The WNBA’s dealings with the “Save Women’s Sports” movement expanded beyond the Indiana Fever games. A rally supporting the protection of women’s sports was held outside the Chase Center in San Francisco before Wednesday’s game between the Golden State Valkyries and the Minnesota Lynx, and was aggressively descended upon by a mob of pro-trans activists. But before the game, head coaches from both teams appeared to criticize the movement as a whole when asked about the demonstration. NATALIE NAKASE DEFENDS TRANS ATHLETES IN WOMEN’S SPORTS AS CULTURE WAR ENGRAVES WNBA Cheryl Reeve and Natalie Nakase in a split photo. (Getty Images) Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve said “people are accepting” the move, but dismissed it as a political talking point. “I’ve said this before, trans kids belong. And I think, as we’re seeing politically, in this country, they’ve found a talking point that people are embracing, and all I’m asking is that people become more educated about these issues and what we’re capable of doing together. And that something not be used just to marginalize a community,” Reeve said. Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase was asked about the rally and insisted there is too much “hate speech” in sports. “In the world and just in sports right now, there is too much hate. Too much hate speech. I highly suggest that people lead with love. I love leading with love,” Nakase said. CHERYL REEVE SENDS CLEAR MESSAGE TO SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM WEARING ‘TRANS KIDS BELONG’ T-SHIRT DURING FEVER-LYNX GAME Both coaches had previously expressed support for trans athletes, and Reeve wore a ‘Trans Kids Belong’ T-shirt during a game against Sophie Cunningham and The Fever on August 2. Meanwhile, outside the arena, a horde of pro-transgender counterprotesters overran the rally and outnumbered the female sports activists, several attendees told Fox News. The pro-trans crowd held signs and chanted loudly in unison in support of trans rights. Erin Friday, a family rights attorney, told Fox News Digital that the opposition shouted obscenities at her and other women’s sports advocates. “We were outside this Chase Center holding signs peacefully. There were eight or nine women, most of them are lesbians, most of them are Democrats or former Democrats, and the crowd came at us shouting profanities at us, telling us to get out,” he said Friday. start, maybe with a rational discussion, and then it would quickly escalate into insults…We were surrounded for a while with a group of women with signs who were hitting us, pretty agitated.” Arianne Gieringer, vice president of LGB Alliance USA, told Fox News Digital that a counter-protester told her she “didn’t belong” there. “One of the counter-protesters kept yelling at us that we don’t belong here because this is San Francisco,” Gieringer said. “I just mentioned that I was born and I grew up and spent my entire life in the San Francisco Bay Area. I told him this is my house. I’ve been here all my life. Are you telling a San Francisco Bay Area resident that I don’t belong there? Minnesota, August 2, 2026. The protest comes after Fever player Sophie Cunningham recently opposed transgender athletes participating in women’s sports. (Getty Images) Footage obtained by Fox News Digital showed a security representative telling female sports activists not to bring their signs into the arena, but also telling them that their XX-XY Athletics jerseys were fine and “not offensive.” Fox News Digital reached out to the Golden State Warriors, parent organization of the Valkyries and owners of the Chase Center, for a response. The verbal acceptance of the jerseys comes just days after a national controversy when a WNBA security representative told a mother and her daughter to cover their XX-XY. Athletics jerseys at Sunday’s game between the Fever and Dream in Atlanta. The mother and daughter alleged that the man told them the shirts were “offensive.” The WNBA and Dream have since addressed the incident and said it should not have happened. The Lynx defeated the Valkyries 77-66 to improve to 30-7 and solidify their spot atop the WNBA standings. The rally marked the third organized “Save Women’s Sports” rally at a WNBA game this week alone, with two more planned before the end of the week. ZERO BS. ONLY DAKICH. TAKE THE DON’T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW! Demonstrations in support of Cunningham followed the Fever into their games Sunday in Atlanta and Tuesday in Toronto. Similar demonstrations will now take place outside the Fever game in Dallas on Thursday and in New York on Saturday. Supporters of Sophie Cunningham gather in Toronto outside the Tempo Indiana Fever game. (Courtesy of April Hutchinson) CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP If those two rallies go as expected, they will mark a total of 10 rallies at WNBA games in support of protecting women’s sports in the span of 26 days. Jackson Thompson is a sports reporter for Fox News Digital covering critical political and cultural issues in sports, with an investigative lens. Jackson’s reporting has been cited in federal government actions related to Title IX enforcement and in mainstream media outlets such as The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Associated Press and ESPN.com.
