Two WNBA coaches publicly dismissed the growing “Save Women’s Sports” movement on Wednesday, calling it political noise even as tensions boiled over in the streets outside their game at San Francisco’s Chase Center.
Before the Minnesota Lynx took on the Golden State Valkyries, Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve brushed off the rallies that have become a fixture at WNBA arenas this season, describing the movement as a “talking point that people are buying into.” Reeve, who wore a shirt reading “trans kids belong” on the sidelines earlier this month, argued that the issue should not be used to marginalize any community and called for more education around the topic.
Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase echoed that sentiment, telling reporters there is “too much hate speech” in sports today and urging people to “lead with love.”
The coaches’ pregame remarks set the stage for a chaotic scene outside the arena, where a small group of women’s rights advocates holding signs found themselves surrounded by an aggressive, chanting mob of pro-trans counter-protesters, according to witnesses and participants.
Erin Friday, a family rights attorney who was at the rally, told Fox News that the group of eight to nine women—whom she described as “majority lesbians” and “majority Democrats or former Democrats”—were peacefully holding signs when the crowd descended on them.
“We were outside of this Chase Center holding signs peacefully,” Friday said. “The crowd came by us yelling profanities, telling us to get out.”
Arianne Gieringer, vice president of LGB Alliance USA and a lifelong Bay Area native, said one aggressive protester screamed that she “didn’t belong” in the city.
Arena security eventually intervened, forcing the activists to ditch their signs before they headed inside to watch the Lynx beat the Valkyries 77-66.
League-Wide Tensions
The San Francisco confrontation is just the latest flare-up in a culture war that has been simmering across the WNBA all season. Demonstrations organized under the “Save Women’s Sports” banner have now popped up at nearly a dozen games in less than a month, from Seattle to Atlanta, according to organizers.
The movement gained new momentum after Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham drew sharp criticism from transgender advocates for declaring that biological males have no place in female locker rooms or athletic competition. Cunningham’s comments sparked a wave of rallies outside arenas around the country.
In a separate incident, Fever head coach Stephanie White lashed out at online critics with an expletive-laden tirade after being criticized for her reaction to a hard foul on Cunningham that left the guard bleeding. White reportedly told critics to “go to hell” during the outburst.
Meanwhile, ESPN commentators have amplified Reeve’s comments during live broadcasts, giving the coaches’ positions additional visibility.
Movement Persists
Despite the pushback from league leadership and the confrontations in the streets, organizers of the “Save Women’s Sports” movement say they have no intention of backing down. With demonstrations continuing to draw supporters to arenas across the country, the debate over who should be allowed to compete in women’s sports shows no signs of cooling off.
For now, the battle lines are clear—both on the court and far beyond it.
Source: www.dailywire.com — https://www.dailywire.com/news/wnba-coaches-slam-save-womens-sports-movement-as-tensions-flare-outside-arena