WNBA Issues Non-Apology After Mother and Daughter Were Told to Cover XX-XY Shirts

by Jeff Johnston | August 18, 2026 | Culture

The WNBA continues to make headlines over its unwillingness to stand for women’s athletics.

The most recent controversy occurred when the security guard at a game between the Indiana Fever and the Atlanta Dream told Kasey Thomason and her daughter, Annie, to cover up their “offensive” XX-XY Athletics t-shirts – or be removed from the game.

The league compounded its wrongdoing with this tepid statement:

The WNBA is aware of interactions at last night’s game in Atlanta in which fans were asked by league security to cover their shirts. This should not have happened.

With this lame non-apology, the WNBA takes no ownership of the incident. The league does not apologize directly to the Thomasons or explain how it will stop similar incidents from happening again.

The Thomasons paid $1,000 apiece for tickets near courtside at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena. Both wore shirts with the XX-XY logo on the front, while Annie’s also said, “For the girls,” on the back.

XX-XY Athletics was founded by Jennifer Sey, an elite gymnast, seven-time member of the U.S. Women’s National Gymnastics Team and the U.S. Women’s All-Around National Champion in 1986.

Sey explains the company’s mission on the XX-XY website:

We are unapologetic about our goal. We are here to protect women’s sports and spaces.

Women deserve the opportunities that sports and single sex spaces provide. Sex matters. It is the single biggest determinant of athletic performance. It is unfair and dangerous to allow males (XY) to compete in girls and women’s (XX) sports.

Social media content creator Adam Francisco reported the Thomasons attended the game to support Indiana Fever’s Sophie Cunningham, who has been outspoken in her support for girls and women’s sports.

Mother and daughter wore their shirts the entire game until a security guard approached them halfway through a five-minute overtime, as Fox News explained:

The security guard told them that a fan(s) were offended by their shirts, so they had the choice to wear the provided Atlanta Dream “Wellness & Health Night” shirts, or they would be escorted out of the building.

To this, Kasey responded by saying, “Biology and science is offensive?”, before reluctantly agreeing to put the shirts on so they didn’t miss the last two minutes of overtime, where the Indiana Fever eventually secured a 95-91 victory.

Francisco videotaped the Thomasons after the game and posted the incident on X, writing:

Earlier in the game, a woman wearing a “Protect Trans Rights” shirt was prominently featured on the Jumbotron. Only after receiving that stadium spotlight was she also told to cover her shirt.

Kasey supported the other woman’s right to wear a “transgender” t-shirt, saying she shouldn’t have had to cover up her message, either.

The WNBA has completely mishandled the issue of males in female sports and private spaces. The WNBA’s official policy reserves the league for women: “Only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA.”

However, the policy does not define “women.”

A WNBA task force of team presidents and general managers met to discuss males who claim to be women playing women’s basketball, but the league could not clarify its eligibility rules.

It shouldn’t be that difficult. Women and men are different, and we acknowledge those differences with separate sport teams, locker rooms, restrooms and showers.

Related articles and resources:

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The Impending Extinction of Women’s Sports – Jennifer Sey | ReFOCUS

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The WNBA’s Culture War Has Arrived

WNBA’s Sophie Cunningham Stands Firm in Face of Criticism