The Alliance Defending Freedom has warned WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert that the league risks discrimination lawsuits after ejecting fans wearing gear supporting female-only sports, citing public accommodations laws that may apply to publicly financed arenas.
Legal Warning Targets League Actions
The religious liberty legal organization sent a formal threat letter Friday following multiple incidents where fans wearing XX-XY Athletics apparel were confronted at Indiana Fever games. The gear expressed support for player Sophie Cunningham’s stance against biological males competing in women’s sports. Alliance Defending Freedom argues that publicly owned or financed stadiums must follow First Amendment protections, potentially making the league liable for viewpoint discrimination under state and local public accommodations statutes.
Wydaho Roasters Coffee House just kicked out our@Campaign4AFC group, led by my 16-year-old son, Bear. They compared US to the KKK… even though Planned Parenthood’s founder, Margaret Sanger, spoke for the KKK.
We paid for our food. We weren’t protesting or disrupting anyone.… pic.twitter.com/LUu81WsSr5
— Kristan Hawkins (@KristanHawkins) August 18, 2026
Seattle explicitly prohibits discrimination based on political ideology in public accommodations, creating particular exposure for Storm home games at Climate Pledge Arena. Washington D.C. similarly bans discrimination for political affiliation, affecting venues in the nation’s capital. The legal warning emphasizes that 15 WNBA teams play in arenas with various degrees of public financing or ownership.
Multiple Fan Confrontations Documented
The league suspended and fined Seattle Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton last month after she verbally confronted teenage fans wearing the controversial shirts at a Fever-Storm game. Security refused to remove Keaton despite her harassment of the fans, who also held signs thanking Cunningham. At a subsequent Fever-Dream game in Atlanta, league security ordered fans to cover their XX-XY shirts, prompting an apology from both the WNBA and Atlanta Dream organization.
Most recently, former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom was ejected from Sunday’s Fever-Sky game after Chicago Sky player Natasha Cloud began pointing and yelling at him from the court. Freedom has declared for the next WNBA draft alongside another former NBA player, citing concerns about the league’s definition of women’s sports.
Idaho Coffee Shop Faces Similar Scrutiny
In a parallel case, Idaho’s Wydaho Roasters ejected a Students for Life of America meeting, comparing pro-life Americans to the Ku Klux Klan. Idaho law prohibits discrimination based on religion in public accommodations, and pro-life views strongly correlate with religious observance and church attendance. Legal scholar Jonathan Turley noted the coffee shop’s blanket ban on pro-life customers exceeds even the Masterpiece Cakeshop case, where baker Jack Phillips only refused to create custom products celebrating same-sex marriage rather than banning entire customer categories.