Lynx, Valkyries coaches rip 'Save Women's Sports' movement as pro-trans mob rocks 1st rally at non-Fever game
The WNBA's dealings with the "Save Women's Sports" movement expanded beyond Indiana Fever games.
A rally to support the protection of women's sports was held outside the Chase Center in San Francisco ahead of Wednesday's game between the Golden State Valkyries and the Minnesota Lynx, and a mob of pro-trans activists aggressively descended on it.
But before the game, the head coaches of both teams appeared to criticize the movement as a whole when asked about the rally.
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Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve said that "people are buying into" the movement but dismissed it as political talking point.
"I have said this before, trans kids belong. And I think, as we're seeing sort of politically, in this country, they've found a talking point that people are buying into, and the only thing I ask is that people educate themselves further on these issues and what we're capable of doing together. And that something is not used just to marginalize a community," Reeve told reporters at a pregame press conference when asked about her stance on the issue.
Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase was asked about the rally, and insisted that there is too much "hate speech" going on in sports.
"In the world and just in sports right now, there's too much hate that's going on. Too much hate speech. I would highly suggest people lead with love. I love to lead with love," Nakase said.
Both coaches had previously expressed support for trans athletes, and Reeve wore a "trans kids belong" shirt during a game against Sophie Cunningham and the Fever on Aug. 2.
Meanwhile, outside the arena, a horde of pro-transgender counterprotesters swarmed the rally and outnumbered the women's sports activists, multiple attendees told Fox News Digital. The pro-trans crowd wielded signs and chanted loudly in unison in support of trans rights.
Family rights attorney Erin Friday told Fox News Digital the opposition shouted obscenities at her and other women's sports advocates.
"We were outside of this Chase Center holding signs peacefully. There were about eight to nine women, majority are lesbians, majority are Democrats or former Democrats, and the crowd came by us yelling profanities, telling us to get out," Friday said.
"They would start, maybe with rational discussion, and then it would quickly divulge into name calling... We were surrounded for a while with a group of women holding signs who were knocking into us, quite agitated."
Arianne Gieringer, the vice president of LGB Alliance USA, told Fox News Digital a counterprotester told her she "didn't belong" there.
"One of the counter protesters kept shouting at us that we don't belong here because this is San Francisco," Gieringer said.
"I just brought up was I was born and raised and spent my entire life in the San Francisco Bay Area. I told her that. This is my home. I have been here my entire life. Are you telling a lifelong San Francisco Bay Area resident that I don't belong there?"
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Footage obtained by Fox News Digital showed a security representative telling the women's sports activists not to bring their signs into the arena, but also telling them that their XX-XY Athletics shirts were fine and "not offensive."
Fox News Digital has 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 shirts comes just days after a national controversy when a WNBA security representative told a mom and daughter to cover their XX-XY Athletics shirts at Sunday's game between the Fever and Dream in Atlanta. The mom and daughter alleged 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 went on to beat the Valkyries 77-66 to improve to 30-7 and cement their spot at the top of the WNBA standings.
The rally marked the third organized "Save Women's Sports" demonstration at a WNBA game this week alone, with two more planned before the week's end.
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Rallies in support of Cunningham followed the Fever to their Sunday game in Atlanta and Tuesday game in Toronto. Similar rallies are now set to also take place outside the Fever's game in Dallas on Thursday and New York on Saturday.
If those two rallies go off as expected, it will mark 10 total rallies at WNBA games in support of protecting women's sports in the span of 26 days.