Texas AG Ken Paxton sends message to WNBA amid 'concerns' over treatment of Sophie Cunningham supporters

EXCLUSIVE: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton expressed cautious optimism about the WNBA’s treatment of Sophie Cunningham’s supporters Thursday while reaffirming his commitment to keeping biological males out of women’s sports.

Paxton attended the Indiana Fever’s game against the Dallas Wings at American Airlines Center with his daughter Mattie. The two wore matching XX-XY shirts as women’s sports advocates rallied outside the arena before the game.

When asked whether Cunningham’s supporters had received fair treatment from the WNBA, Paxton stopped short of condemning the league.

"Look, I think they’re working on it," Paxton told Fox News Digital. "I have concerns ... but I’m hopeful that things are getting better in that regard."

Paxton answered a question on whether he would become involved if supporters face unfair treatment, saying he was "looking" into the issue. He did not indicate any plans for any formal action.

"Look, we’re looking at it," Paxton said. "We wanna make sure that they are treated fairly"

Paxton’s measured response came after Cunningham supporters raised concerns about their treatment at WNBA games in multiple cities. The league recently acknowledged that security personnel should not have instructed a mother and daughter to cover their XX-XY shirts at an Atlanta Dream game.

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"This should not have happened," the WNBA said in response to that incident.

Paxton showed little willingness to compromise on the underlying issue.

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"In Texas, we know what we’ve passed," he said. "We have laws here that protect against men in women’s sports and boys in girls’ sports, and it’s pretty important to, I think, the people of Texas."

Texas law requires athletes at public schools and public colleges to compete based on biological sex. The state’s laws do not directly control WNBA eligibility. Paxton has still used his office to pursue the issue, including a lawsuit against the NCAA over its previous transgender athlete policy.

Paxton praised Cunningham for publicly opposing the inclusion of biological males in women’s sports. Her comments inspired supporters to hold rallies outside WNBA arenas and attend games wearing shirts promoting sex-based competition.

"Look, I admire her," Paxton said. "She’s got tremendous courage. It’s what we need in our country, more courage, standing up for what is right, and actually standing up for young women that want the opportunity to compete in sports."

"Obviously, we have these policies where men compete against women, which makes it very difficult for these women to compete in sports."

Paxton encouraged Texans to support Cunningham instead of attacking her for expressing her position.

"Instead of criticizing her, how about we admire something of great courage, which is what she has accomplished as a young woman," he said. "Standing up is very difficult. Very few people are willing to do it, and I have a lot of admiration. I hope a lot of Texans have a lot of admiration for what she has accomplished at such a young age."

Paxton also addressed former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White announcing plans to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft. Both men have described their announcements as attempts to challenge the league to clarify its transgender eligibility policy.

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"Look, it highlights the crazy insanity of this whole transgender movement," Paxton said. "When these guys can declare, and it’s under the rules, they’re perfectly within their rights to do it. So I think they’re just highlighting the ludicrousness of what the WNBA is promoting here."

When asked what Texas might do if either former NBA player reached a WNBA roster and played in Dallas, Paxton declined to address the hypothetical.

"We’ll just have to see," he said. "We don’t know how the WNBA is gonna handle this. But we certainly, we in Texas, we are promoting no boys in girls’ sports because it’s completely unfair."

Brooke Slusser’s mother, Kim, also attended the game. Slusser, a former San Jose State volleyball player, became a national advocate for women’s sports after saying she was required to share living and sleeping spaces with a transgender teammate without initially knowing the player’s sex.

"I think that they are the epitome of what real Texans are about," Paxton said of the Slusser family. "Fighting against, you know, a young woman that’s supposedly have to live with a man, and it’s ridiculous and ludicrous. And the fact that she had to go through that is awful and appalling."

"But look, I admire her for her stand, that they’re standing up and fighting back."

Paxton also made clear that the night was about more than politics. He said he looked forward to spending time with his daughter and watching the game, which Dallas won 91-85.

Paxton’s appearance came as he campaigns for a promotion from the Texas attorney general’s office to the U.S. Senate. Paxton defeated four-term incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in the May Republican runoff, winning about 64% of the vote after receiving President Donald Trump’s endorsement. He will face Democrat state Rep. James Talarico in November after choosing not to seek another term as attorney general.

The debate over women’s sports has become a prominent part of Paxton’s record as attorney general. Texas adopted laws requiring athletes in public K-12 schools and public colleges to compete based on their biological sex. Paxton has used his office to defend and enforce those laws while targeting athletic organizations with policies that he believes undermine sex-based competition.

Paxton sued the NCAA in December 2024, accusing the organization of violating the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act by marketing events as women’s competitions while allowing biological males to participate. After the NCAA changed its policy in February 2025 to restrict women’s competition to athletes assigned female at birth, Paxton argued the organization still needed a system for verifying athletes’ sex.

A state judge later denied his request for a temporary injunction requiring sex screening, but the ruling did not resolve the underlying lawsuit.

Paxton’s office also secured an agreement with the Dallas Independent School District requiring compliance with the state’s girls’ sports law. He later pursued investigations involving U.S. Masters Swimming and the Texas branch of the United States Tennis Association.

Those actions have helped Paxton present himself nationally as one of the Republican Party’s most aggressive legal advocates for sex-based athletic categories as he seeks a seat in Washington.

That record has placed Paxton alongside the growing network of athletes, parents and advocacy groups that have rallied around Cunningham. Some of those supporters have reported hostile treatment after bringing their message inside WNBA arenas, prompting the league to discipline one team executive and acknowledge that its own security personnel acted improperly in another incident.

The first major confrontation occurred during the Fever’s July 28 game in Seattle. Two teenage girls sitting courtside held signs thanking Cunningham for "speaking up for girls."

Seattle Storm minority co-owner Celeste Keaton allegedly approached them, used profanity and called them "f—ing insane."

The Storm apologized, and the WNBA later suspended Keaton from five home games and issued an undisclosed fine.

Another controversy followed during the Fever’s Aug. 16 game against the Atlanta Dream. WNBA security personnel told at least three fans to cover shirts containing messages about transgender participation in women’s sports. Two wore XX-XY shirts supporting sex-based athletic categories, while another wore a shirt supporting transgender participation.

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A mother and her 17-year-old daughter said security brought them Dream shirts and instructed them to cover their XX-XY clothing or leave the arena.

The WNBA subsequently admitted that security personnel were wrong.

"This should not have happened," the league said, adding that the fans should have been free to wear the shirts. The Dream said its employees had no involvement in the decision and that the actions by league security "fell short" of the team’s standards.