WNBA Player Comments On Statement Made During Another Players Interview

The WNBA’s transgender athlete debate is not cooling down. If anything, the temperature just went up another few degrees.

Golden State Valkyries star Gabby Williams has now stepped directly into the middle of the controversy, saying she would welcome a transgender athlete on her team or as an opponent.

“I think trans rights, right now, is our new battle,” Williams said in a recent interview. “We see people’s trans rights being stripped away from them; there’s a lot of discourse around trans athletes and what they can compete in.”

Then she made her position crystal clear.

“I would welcome a trans athlete on my team or against my team, anytime,” Williams said. “I don’t think it’s a problem in the world.”

Well, there goes any chance of this discussion quietly disappearing before the playoffs.

Williams appears to be the first active WNBA player to publicly say she would welcome a transgender player into the league. Her comments come just weeks after Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham kicked off a national argument by telling ESPN that young girls “shouldn’t have to go against biological men” in sports.

Cunningham has since tried to move the conversation back toward basketball, but the debate has shown little interest in cooperating.

Williams also referenced former WNBA player Layshia Clarendon, who became the league’s first openly non-binary player. Clarendon, who was assigned female at birth, came out as non-binary in 2020 and ended an 11-year WNBA career in 2024.

Video of Williams’ remarks circulated online with branding from sports website The Local W. It was not immediately clear whether Williams was speaking with one outlet or a larger group of reporters.

Naturally, social media handled the discussion with its usual sense of calm and restraint.