Commentary + Critique
Every year, a WNBA team or two loses its home arena during the playoffs: the time of year a team needs familiarity and consistency most. In 2021, the No. 5 Phoenix Mercury will play their first-round single-elimination game against the No. 8 New York Liberty on Thursday (Sept. 23) at Grand Canyon University (GCU) Arena because of what the team is calling a “scheduling conflict” at the team’s home arena. But there is more to this recurring theme of disrespect.
Emerging as a force to be reckoned with against gender identity discrimination, Layshia Clarendon, the WNBA’s first openly trans and non-binary player, has been nominated for the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award. Yet, in the same breath that we celebrate the joy of gender euphoria for countless people challenging the gender binary, we must band together and fight the intentional harms caused to our transgender, non-binary and gender non-conforming siblings. In short, we are at a time where federal and state legislation has waged war against transgender and non-binary Americans. This prompted us to look into where states housing the 12 WNBA teams stand in terms of LGBTQ protections and anti-trans legislation.