WNBA star Brianna Turner is speaking up, as the league veteran and WNBPA treasurer criticized the IOC’s new transgender ban and sex verification policy in a USA Today op-ed entitled “I'm a WNBA player. Don't use athletes like me to exclude trans women.”
The IOC’s policy effectively bans transgender athletes from participating in Olympic women’s sports. It also impacts competitors with Differences of Sexual Development (DSD) — a category of congenital conditions where a person's chromosomes, hormones, and/or reproductive anatomy does not fit into the male/female binary.
Notably, the IOC abandoned a previous gender screening rule in 1999 due to its scientific ineffectiveness, with the Committee now opting to reinstate the anti-transgender policy ahead of the 2028 LA Olympics.
“This new mandate abandons that ground-breaking and collaborative framework, ignores established medical and human-rights guidance, and rejects the science that says physical appearance, chromosomes or individual traits do not determine athletic performance or success,” wrote Turner.
Brianna Turner Says Transgender Ban Doesn't Protect Women's Sports
A key member of the WNBA’s recent CBA negotiations, Turner subsequently noted that higher salaries, improved travel and health protections, and familial support are the policies strengthening women’s sports — not bans.
“In more than 15 years of organized basketball, I’ve played with and against people who are transgender and undoubtedly people with intersex variations,” wrote the newly signed Las Vegas Aces forward. “And I've never experienced any unfair advantages.”
“If we really want to protect the integrity of sport, let’s invest in fairness, opportunity and safety for every athlete,” she continued. “Let’s build a future where sport belongs to everyone.”
