Sports is all about "belonging," says Golden State Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase, so why not just let men play? Speaking to the press post-game, Nakase was asked about Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham's statements on protecting women's sports to ensure women and girls can compete on a fair playing field.
"Thank you for that question," Nakase told reporters. "I think just in terms of how I'm seeing it is, if I could answer with like for me, sports is about belonging. It's about inclusivity. It's about allowing everyone to be their authentic self. You know, I'm big on that just because I have been criticized for my height, for my ethnicity. I've been in those 'you shouldn't belong here' many times. And for me, I don't want that space, especially Golden State, to ever feel like that. So I'm all about women, little girls, deserving to play, and that includes trans women. So I'm all about inclusivity."
If belonging and inclusivity is what it's all about, then just open the doors and let men play: men in dresses, men in beards, men in lipstick, men in high-heeled shoes, men with penises, men with enhanced, enlarged breasts, let them all play. There's no reason not to.
Would Nakase be amenable to LeBron James showing up in a sports bra ready to get his game on? Undoubtedly, she would! She'd also probably be amenable to diminutive Hollywood actor Peter Dinklage wandering onto the court with a ponytail and some pink eyeshadow ready to take the ball to the basket, because inclusivity means merit, fairness, and ability are not as important as just smashing open the door and letting everyone in.
Inclusion means everyone, and everyone means men, and men should be allowed to play in the Women's National Basketball Association just as men have been given spots on women's high school track teams, college swim and volleyball teams, rugby teams, boxing, wrestling, biking, and the list goes on. If women's pro basketball is really going to back everyone getting to be their "authentic self," then the men must be allowed to play.
It doesn't matter that men will trounce women on the court, even to the point of injury (as the trans athletes have in other sports), they have a right to be there—probably even more of a right to be there than the white women on the court like Caitlin Clark, who a USA Today journalist already claimed was racist for criticizing referee calls.
Nakase is right, and it's time we all realized it, especially the female players who will likely be denied a place on the team when any average man is able to outrun them, out-dribble, and out-shoot. Those women who want to play in the WNBA must accept that their opportunity to play in the league is not as important as that of a trans woman, who is exactly what he says he is.
In fact, Clay Travis has already come up with the first team dedicated to including trans women: the Nashville Balls. He calls it "the most inclusive team in WNBA history... A 100% trans organization—men finally breaking the glass ceiling in women's sports!"
He even offered $10 million "for a head-to-head basketball game between the defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces and a boy's high school state title team of my choice. If the Aces beat my team, I will give them $10 million." It is worth noting that the US Women's Soccer team routinely loses to the under-14 boys teams, who they play not for bragging rights but for practice. I doubt any women's basketball team will take Travis up on his offer. They would just lose.
Women can't compete against men in athletic competition. Women are weaker, slower, smaller—and there's nothing wrong with that, it's not a value judgment, it just is. Trans women athletes could really help these women's teams out. They could come in, crack some skulls, gain some fouls as the ladies try desperately to stop them, and most importantly, win games. Winning games was what it was all about for the San Jose State University coaches when they brought a trans woman onto the team. And that's another advantage—men just want to win and they'll stop at nothing to get that glory.
Could it be that Nakase was just virtue signaling so that people wouldn't give her the Sophie Cunningham treatment? Or could it be that she actually believes there's no difference between a bepenised fellow in some size 12 pink Nikes and a real woman? Either way, it's time to find out. Let's let the men play, even if they haven't earned it.
"Thank you for that question," Nakase told reporters. "I think just in terms of how I'm seeing it is, if I could answer with like for me, sports is about belonging. It's about inclusivity. It's about allowing everyone to be their authentic self. You know, I'm big on that just because I have been criticized for my height, for my ethnicity. I've been in those 'you shouldn't belong here' many times. And for me, I don't want that space, especially Golden State, to ever feel like that. So I'm all about women, little girls, deserving to play, and that includes trans women. So I'm all about inclusivity."
If belonging and inclusivity is what it's all about, then just open the doors and let men play: men in dresses, men in beards, men in lipstick, men in high-heeled shoes, men with penises, men with enhanced, enlarged breasts, let them all play. There's no reason not to.
Would Nakase be amenable to LeBron James showing up in a sports bra ready to get his game on? Undoubtedly, she would! She'd also probably be amenable to diminutive Hollywood actor Peter Dinklage wandering onto the court with a ponytail and some pink eyeshadow ready to take the ball to the basket, because inclusivity means merit, fairness, and ability are not as important as just smashing open the door and letting everyone in.
Inclusion means everyone, and everyone means men, and men should be allowed to play in the Women's National Basketball Association just as men have been given spots on women's high school track teams, college swim and volleyball teams, rugby teams, boxing, wrestling, biking, and the list goes on. If women's pro basketball is really going to back everyone getting to be their "authentic self," then the men must be allowed to play.
It doesn't matter that men will trounce women on the court, even to the point of injury (as the trans athletes have in other sports), they have a right to be there—probably even more of a right to be there than the white women on the court like Caitlin Clark, who a USA Today journalist already claimed was racist for criticizing referee calls.
Nakase is right, and it's time we all realized it, especially the female players who will likely be denied a place on the team when any average man is able to outrun them, out-dribble, and out-shoot. Those women who want to play in the WNBA must accept that their opportunity to play in the league is not as important as that of a trans woman, who is exactly what he says he is.
In fact, Clay Travis has already come up with the first team dedicated to including trans women: the Nashville Balls. He calls it "the most inclusive team in WNBA history... A 100% trans organization—men finally breaking the glass ceiling in women's sports!"
He even offered $10 million "for a head-to-head basketball game between the defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces and a boy's high school state title team of my choice. If the Aces beat my team, I will give them $10 million." It is worth noting that the US Women's Soccer team routinely loses to the under-14 boys teams, who they play not for bragging rights but for practice. I doubt any women's basketball team will take Travis up on his offer. They would just lose.
Women can't compete against men in athletic competition. Women are weaker, slower, smaller—and there's nothing wrong with that, it's not a value judgment, it just is. Trans women athletes could really help these women's teams out. They could come in, crack some skulls, gain some fouls as the ladies try desperately to stop them, and most importantly, win games. Winning games was what it was all about for the San Jose State University coaches when they brought a trans woman onto the team. And that's another advantage—men just want to win and they'll stop at nothing to get that glory.
Could it be that Nakase was just virtue signaling so that people wouldn't give her the Sophie Cunningham treatment? Or could it be that she actually believes there's no difference between a bepenised fellow in some size 12 pink Nikes and a real woman? Either way, it's time to find out. Let's let the men play, even if they haven't earned it.
