A COMMENT MEANT TO UPLIFT WEAPONIZED AS TRANSPHOBIA TARGETS THE WNBA

For the past couple of weeks, the WNBA has been under attack from various transphobic entities after Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham shared her beliefs in a July 21 interview with ESPN.

Since, coaches and players alike have been asked about trans athletes in women’s sports. Some online would make you believe 2026 All-Star starter Gabby Williams is one of them.

However, that’s not exactly the case.

On May 19, Black Rosie Media was on hand at Valkyries practice, along with Khristina Williams and Jackie Powell, to interview Williams. The 2024 Olympic silver medalist gave thoughtful answers as to how Natalie Nakase has unlocked her game, where she sees the WNBA as it celebrates its 30th season, and a question from Powell about what issues that remain for queer players in 2026.

I shot video of the scrum, which you can watch below:

However, thanks to forces beyond Williams’ control, a thoughtful answer she gave in May recently went viral and made life hell.

Williams’ comments were used by engagement accounts and podcasters/credentialed media members under the guise of it being a “response” to Cunningham’s comments.

This is not the case and we here at Black Rosie Media want to set the record straight!
If you watch the video above starting at the 5:04 mark you will hear the following conversation:

Again, we implore you to watch or listen to the full video, in which Williams explains how she’s seen representation and conversations around Queer players change, as well as what still needs to change.

The entire ordeal seemingly took a lot out of Williams, and she spoke about the support and love she received from the Valkyries fans, organization, and friends.

“Today was a rough day for me, man, off the court,” Williams said after helping her team to a win over the Dallas Wings after her exchange with Powell from May was added to the recent –and very toxic– conversation about transgender athletes in the WNBA.

“I felt so much love from our fans, our organization … I’m just really happy to be here,” she added.

The conversation has been tried in the wildly inaccurate and often nonsensical court of social media for almost a month. Now, the league is starting to respond.

On August 12, the WNBA released a statement following a meeting with a newly created task force.

Following news of the taskforce meeting, Jackie Powell shared more information from the meeting and what the next steps may be:

In a previous issue of the Women’s Basketball Roundup, I addressed this topic. It’s worth repeating.

When powerful forces resort to bigotry and hatred, we have to loudly and forcefully challenge it and make it clear it isn’t welcome here.

We here at Black Rosie Media will always stand with marginalized communities, and will never leave them behind.

Here’s what you need to know today:

‼️FIBA World Cup Field Guide - Volume I
The WBB Roundup World Cup Field Guide — For Subscribers!

🏀 Game of the weekend
The Fever and Dream face off in the main event.

💰 Money moves
Mark Walter sold the LA Lakers, and now everything is in flux.

🗓 Upcoming games
What’s on deck to begin the week.

📰 What we’re reading
Some great writing that’s come across our desks.

We built something for Berlin.

Berlin 2026: The WBB Roundup World Cup Field Guide is a living, updatable tracker covering every team, every game, and every storyline heading into the FIBA Women's World Cup — September 4–13 in Germany.

16 nations. 36 games. One trophy. USA chasing a five-peat.

Here's what's inside:

We're updating it before every edition — twice weekly — through the final whistle on September 13.

⏬ Subscribe & Access the FIBA Guide ⏬

INDIANA AND ATLANTA BATTLE FOR HOMECOURT ADVANTAGE

On Sunday afternoon, the Atlanta Dream and Indiana Fever face off in a big-time, national TV matchup.

The Dream currently lead the season series 2-1 and their last meeting was in mid June. The Dream won that matchup as they used a strong second half to overwhelm the Fever and set a franchise record for points in a game with 113.

Since then, the Fever have turned their season around. Entering action on August 14, Indiana has gone 12-5 since June 20. That mark is third best in the WNBA, trailing only the Minnesota Lynx and Golden State Valkyries. What’s powered the group through this stretch is their offense. Led by the trio of Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, and Aliyah Boston, Indiana has amassed an offensive rating of 120, far and away the best mark in the league.

For the Dream, they’ve had some struggles since the last game against the Fever. Atlanta has gone 10-8 since then as they’ve tried to manage minutes for their stars while also getting them enough pockets of rest. They were able to accomplish both as none of the starters played 30+ minutes in a 104-69 win over the Connecticut Sun.

This matchup is an increase in difficulty for the Dream, and they understand the stakes of this primetime matchup.

“It’s two teams that are in the mix there,” Dream head coach Karl Smesko said. “So the game obviously has a great deal of importance because so many teams are bunched within two games. Whoever plays the best down the stretch is probably gonna be able to host a playoff series and I do think that’s an advantage.

It is a big game. Indiana’s playing really well right now, and I think we’re playing pretty well too so it should be a great one.”

Every game matters and the team you face in round one can determine how far you go in the playoffs. For two WNBA title contenders in the Dream and Fever, they have to be at their best in the stretch run in order to be ready for an arduous postseason.

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MARK WALTER SOLD THE LAKERS FOR $12.5 BILLION. TWO FEDERAL INVESTIGATIONS EXPLAIN WHY. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR THE SPARKS, PWHL?

For the second time in less than a year, Mark Walter has shaken up the sports landscape.

Previously at the Women’s Basketball Roundup, we covered Walter’s purchase of the Los Angeles Lakers for $10 billion. Walter, who owns the Los Angeles Sparks, the entire Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) and Los Angeles Dodgers, bought the preeminent NBA team in North America. The Lakers have been the crown jewel of the NBA for decades as various basketball icons and luminaries have donned the purple and gold.

With the Lakers and Sparks under similar ownership, we started to wonder how the levels of investment in the Sparks would rise, especially with a new Sparks practice facility scheduled to open in 2027.

However, everything we once thought is now up in the air.

On August 12, Walter sold the Lakers to the duo of Bob Iger and Josh Kushner for $12.5 billion. The deal caught the entire world by surprise and reportedly came together in under 72 hours.

Iger is the former CEO of Disney, and if the last name Kushner rings a bell, then yes Kushner is part of the family you’re thinking of. This all looks incredibly fishy, to say the least.

With Walter’s sale of the Lakers, it’s fair to wonder what may happen to the Sparks. So far at least, things appear to be business as usual.

Walter has bigger problems to worry about these days. He is currently the subject of two federal investigations related to loan fraud. This case has wide ranging ramifications and will effect the WNBA, NBA, PWHL, and various entities here in North America and abroad.

Prior to news of the sale, Erica L. Ayala and Rachel Donner discussed the investigation and its potential impact on the most recent edition of On Even Strength: A Women’s Hockey Podcast

When one of the most powerful people in sports is under investigation, the world takes notice.

As Mark Walter tries to solve this situation, his finances, competence, and trustworthiness will be under the microscope.

A lot is on the line, and it will have wide-ranging effects.

Here’s the schedule for the next few days

At Black Rosie Media, we love to give flowers to other writers and creators in the women’s basketball community.

Here’s what we’re reading:

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