Michele Steele

“Yeah. The league's on-the-court story is genuinely great, but the off-the-court noise keeps competing for that headline.”

Michele Steele · said 2026-08-15 · reported 2026-08-22

Michele Steele commented on the WNBA's on-court performance versus off-court headlines on NPR.

“And you said it yourself, the WNBA has never had a known transgender player. Now, the task force just cannot unilaterally announce they're going to change eligibility because this is collectively bargained with the players' union, so they can study the question on transgender players, but they can't hand down a new rule. Their statement was very pointed this week, denouncing bad-faith efforts to use these topics to demean and marginalize others. They're very clearly frustrated, Eyder, at being pulled into this.”

Michele Steele · said 2026-08-15 · reported 2026-08-22

Michele Steele explained the collective bargaining constraints on changing WNBA eligibility rules.