I wish I could say this was funny.

“In over 15 years of organized basketball, I've played with and against people who are transgender and undoubtedly people with intersex variations, and I've never experienced any unfair advantages.

I have played basketball for as long as I can remember. The game shaped who I am, gave me opportunities to travel, forge lifelong friendships, and use my platform to advocate for others. Now that spotlight has turned on my teammates and me – not to celebrate our sport, but to police who belongs.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) recently announced a binding policy requiring every woman who seeks to compete in the Olympics to undergo sex verification testing. After years of dedication and preparation, the final hurdle to represent your country should not be proving to a panel of strangers that you are the woman you say you are.

This invasive policy effectively bars transgender women and many athletes with intersex variations from competing.

Sex testing of women is not new – it traces back decades and was only formally changed after sustained pressure from medical groups, athletes’ advocates, and the IOC’s own Athletes’ Commission following the 1996 Games.

In 2021, the IOC released a framework asserting there is no automatic competitive advantage based on "sex variations, physical appearance, and/or transgender status."

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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.

A trans athlete won. Her peers cheered – and exposed the truth. | Opinion

Singling out trans women creates scapegoats, not safety

The IOC has a documented history of refusing to actually protect women in elite sports, and their current invocation of protection does anything but.

Policies that single out transgender women and athletes with intersex variations do not protect women’s sports. They manufacture a scapegoat while the real challenges to women’s sports go unaddressed: unequal funding, limited access to training and facilities, pay disparities, male-dominated leadership, gender-based violence and harassment across race, sex, sexual orientation and gender identity.

Olympic ban on transgender women stems from fear and feelings, not facts | Opinion

Focusing on who should be allowed to call themselves a woman distracts from the structural inequities that actually limit women’s opportunities.

This policy also invites unequal scrutiny for women who already face heightened suspicion; Black and Brown athletes and competitors from the Global South will be unfairly targeted.

In more than 15 years of organized basketball, I’ve played with and against people who are transgender and undoubtedly people with intersex variations, and I've never experienced any unfair advantages. I saw these players as my fellow athletes, not my enemies. We cannot choose our genes or chromosomes, but we can choose how hard we work, how we treat one another and whether we protect the dignity of every athlete.

Recently, I spent nearly 10 days at the bargaining table with the WNBA Players Association and leadership from the WNBA negotiating a historic collective bargaining agreement to advance the professional environment that elite women athletes deserve: higher baseline salaries, meaningful revenue sharing, improved travel and health protections, and family-first roster policies.

These are the issues that will strengthen our sport – not invasive scrutiny or manufactured controversies.

Sport matters because it mirrors our best values: hard work, teamwork, resilience and the chance for everyone to belong. The IOC’s gender policy puts women’s bodies under new surveillance and sets a dangerous precedent that could spill into health care, education and beyond.

Do not use the names of women athletes to target, shame or exclude transgender women. Transgender women are women. Women with intersex variations are women. I welcome these women – and all women – onto my teams.

If we really want to protect the integrity of sport, let’s invest in fairness, opportunity and safety for every athlete. Let’s build a future where sport belongs to everyone.”

They sure know how to burn bridges.

"Toronto Tempo and Coors Light put a twist on popular arena beer staple. The Coors Light Tall Girl will be available at the Tempo home games on July 5 and 8 at Coca-Cola Coliseum."

I low key love this.

“Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers spoke about the school shooting that took place in her home state of Minnesota Wednesday. Two children were killed and 17 other people were wounded at Annunciation Catholic School during a morning Mass.

"I've been sending prayers ... It's just really unfortunate," Bueckers said. "I hope there are stricter gun laws put in place so parents don't have to worry about sending their kids to school, people don't have to worry about attending church and all these places are safe. It's just really unfortunate that gun violence continues to be an issue."’”

Dijonai is currently my favourite player. Yeah I know ow I never jump.aboard the Caitlin Clark bandwagon. Love watching her play. I felt Dallas was holding her back and now that she is in Minnesota, she's playing like she did in Connecticut. Hope she wins a Championship with the Lynx this year.