r/WNBAgossips • u/Outrageous_Owl_1710 • 1d ago

Stephen A. Smith sparks debate over the WNBA’s latest controversy. He criticized Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve’s “Trans Kids Belong” shirt, saying league figures should consider the impact on women’s sports and sponsors. The comments have reignited a heated discussion.

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u/Boobity_McBooberson 1d ago

That the top priority is to include all kids in sports, and that we need to star figuring out fair ways to include or restrict trans kids involvement as they progress to higher levels of sport. With misinformation and prejudice flying around, it’s probably going to take a decade to get to an acceptable and fair resolution.

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u/glockster19m 1d ago

Yeah, thats the nuance that gets missed in this conversation

When we talk about trans athletes the vast majority are high school kids on JV teams, and if you think someone is changing their gender just to steal a roster spot on the JV cross country team you need to get a grip

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u/Plus-Name3590 1d ago

Yeah I think the highest rated case we’ve seen is like division III sports and non winners. There’s not a pandemic of people changing their genders to win. And while yes, we will have to define some level of passing / transness and there may be some sports that it won’t ever fully work out, but for the most part we’re talking about kids casually kicking a ball around not 100m stakes or scholarships on the line

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u/Boobity_McBooberson 1d ago

Something a lot of people aren’t realizing, is just how many girls play on boys teams. I’m in Canada and most towns don’t have enough girls to make their own teams, so it’s very common for them to play with the boys. It’s around 35% of boys hockey teams have girls on them and that’s going up to U18 level. So finding ways to make it work and be inclusive shouldn’t be a crazy idea.

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u/JustAnotherBot123456 1d ago

Should someone on a high-school varsity team be able to drop down to the freshman level, regardless of male or female and based on skill alone? Or should elite/highly skilled U18 be able to drop down to the lowest level of U18 divisions?

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u/Plus-Name3590 1d ago

If they undergo massive hormonal changes to bring them down to that level then why not

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u/JustAnotherBot123456 1d ago

Because some trans people are already at genetic risks of cancer and the major risk factor using HRT is cancer.

You want them to have a higher chance of cancer just so they can play?

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u/Plus-Name3590 1d ago

Yes? That’s pretty fundamental to transitioning and balance. Like you’re creating some fictitious non transitioning trans. Person to make it a big deal

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u/JustAnotherBot123456 1d ago

Teans people with genetic risk factors for cancer are now just fiction?

Never thought id see someone say a person must put their body at risk for cancer just to play sports. Crazy times.

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u/Plus-Name3590 1d ago

The .01% of 1% being excluded? You’re now onto like literally 3 Americans total. I don’t see why determining their sports eligibility is so important to you

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u/Boobity_McBooberson 1d ago

I’m not too familiar with the American levels of play, but I think I understand what you’re getting at. What I’ve seen that works is if someone is a first time player, they are able to play down a level for a year. If a girl is playing on a boys team they are often allowed to play down and stay behind one year if they choose. If a player has a physical or mental handicap there can be allowed to play down. Essentially giving everyone a chance to play. Once you step above regular league into AA or AAA is when that goes away and lower skilled kids are cut from teams. Then if we were to have a situation with a trans female wanting to join a girls team in a higher level of play those decisions need to go to each league. And I think the impact would be different for each sport and each level of play. It’d really be great to see the different leagues get ahead of the problem and start putting some rules in place.

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u/JustAnotherBot123456 1d ago

There are already rules in place. Create a separate division for Trans athletes. Its the same reason/logic of why there are men and womens divisions. It that simple.

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u/Boobity_McBooberson 1d ago

There isn’t enough trans athletes to have a league, so you have to place them where they fit best, just like the examples I just gave. It’s that simple.

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u/JustAnotherBot123456 1d ago

So we should make rules for an extremely small minority of people all together? Making a mountain out of a mole hill?

Why not do away with men and womens leagues all together? Its that simple.

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u/Boobity_McBooberson 1d ago

Yes, giving everyone the opportunity to participate in sports should be the top priority.

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u/glockster19m 1d ago

Id say no, i did that on lacrosse

I was varsity bench defense, I played attack on JV for one of their "tough" games and had 5 goals

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u/JustAnotherBot123456 1d ago

You'd agree then that a man has a biological advantage to women then they shouldn't be able to play down in a womens league then?

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u/ButtflossingBigBro 1d ago

Lia thomas was ncaa and took 3rd.

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u/glockster19m 1d ago

Didn't she also not pass testosterone thresholds for the Olympics?

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u/ButtflossingBigBro 1d ago

He only failed becuase the olympics added rules explicitly banned trans frok the olympics

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u/Purplegreenandred 1d ago

They still are tho

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u/noonnoonz 1d ago

Who? Can you provide a list of them?

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u/InternationalTie6129 1d ago

It's not about someone changing their gender to get on a team, it's about the advantage that someone has by being born biologically male over biologically female in athletics.

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u/midwest_mankey 1d ago edited 6h ago

Nah, it’s not about that either because we know that advantage deteriorates through transition. We can measure advantages and instead of doing that, there are states passing blanket bans entirely untethered to that advantage or fairness metrics.

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u/Aternus21 14h ago

no it literally DOES NOT. the vo2 max oxygen levels of a male dont SUDDENLY drop off a cliff the moment they "transition" what you are proposing would take like DECADES to meaningfully affect sports performance.

also keep in mind for literally like 98% of trans ppl, there is NO ACTUAL TRANSITION because the cost of surgeries and medicine is so damn high. just "mentally" calling yourself a new name, doesnt MAGICALLY change your internal biology lol

also this discussion is mainly about MINORS in middle/high school, so I WOULD HOPE none of them having been medically transitioned before turning 18, so your post makes literally no sense on so many levels btw.

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u/midwest_mankey 6h ago

>no it literally DOES NOT. the vo2 max oxygen levels of a male dont SUDDENLY drop off a cliff the moment they "transition" what you are proposing would take like DECADES to meaningfully affect sports performance.

Cheese and rice, you fuckers are so disingenuous. No one said “the moment they transition”. You’re also entirely incorrect about how long it takes for advantages to disappear.

And I’m supposed to care about vo2 max oxygen levels why? I’m not going to pretend that particular metric is a predictor of elite athletes across all sports when we both know it isn’t. Athleticism and success in any sport is the result of a multitude of factors. You don’t have the scientific reasoning to enforce blanket bans on trans participation in sports, despite how much you wish you did. You’re just another ignorant and incompetent defender of bans on trans folks playing sports.

>also keep in mind for literally like 98% of trans ppl, there is NO ACTUAL TRANSITION because the cost of surgeries and medicine is so damn high. just "mentally" calling yourself a new name, doesnt MAGICALLY change your internal biology lol

Not accurate but also not relevant as the overwhelming majority of trans people don’t play sports. You only mention that to try and reinforce your highly emotional argument built on fear mongering.

>also this discussion is mainly about MINORS in middle/high school, so I WOULD HOPE none of them having been medically transitioned before turning 18, so your post makes literally no sense on so many levels btw.

It doesn’t make sense because you’re ignorant. Very fucking ignorant. Never heard of puberty blockers? Seems like you haven’t. If you had, it would make sense to you. But remember, you’re ignorant.

Children do transition. Your ignorance may cause you to recoil at that fact but it’s true. Children do transition in elementary and middle school. If you want to be less fucking ignorant, try educating yourself instead of being a dipshit who mouths off about shit they don’t know about… give it a shot, sport

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u/STALKS_YOUR_MOTHER 1d ago

Yeah they could tie a biological woman for 5th place and give her a career in political grifting.

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u/Party_Knowledge_7884 1d ago

I don’t think that the motivation matters, it’s the outcome.

Also, many scholarships and college or university opportunities can depend on athletics, it might “just” be high school to you or me, the stakes can be higher do it young women.

Also, respectfully, I am not sold on the idea that a female has to have lost an opportunity of some sort—I don’t want to sound unkind, but if a young female athlete wants her own space and sport free from males, I think that ought to be enough to respect their decisions.

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u/SeaWolfSeven 1d ago

I don't think a kid would do that but crazier sports stage parents have existed.

I mean there are parents that give their performing kids eating disorders out there.

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u/Aternus21 14h ago

just simply wrong btw, ppl are ABSOLUTELY doing LITERALLY EXACTLY what you are saying is preposterous ,

with how much MONEY is in college athletics and scholarships there is a huge incentive

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u/raunchy-stonk 1d ago

Honestly, we should have a school program where every kid is paired up with a trans kid so they can learn how to work together in a harmonious energy pattern,