In the last few weeks, non-basketball storylines have received more coverage in the WNBA than the basketball stuff. Fair or unfair, trans athlete participation has become a bigger issue than the league would have anticipated, especially after Enes Kanter entered the Wintrust Arena for the Fever-Sky game.
According to Fox Sports’ sports analyst, Jackson Thompson, the WNBA needed to stop following the NBA’s approach and follow the NFL’s. According to Thompson, the NFL was more receptive to its fans.
“The NFL needs to be the baseline for what the WNBA tries to do. The NBA, if it weren’t for the [New York] Knicks, you see their ratings go down the last few years. If they try to match the NBA’s formula, I think they’ll fall short.” Thompson said on the Riley Gaines Show.
The NBA’s ratings in the last few years have indeed dropped before getting a major boost last season. A combined 170 million viewers were accounted for in the US across all the partner platforms during the regular season.
However, the drop in previous years was perhaps more related to long season exhaustion and load management by players. The absence of the old-school basketball and analytics-heavy approach, coupled with the league’s broadcast accessibility and high ticket costs, may also be contributing factors.
However, according to Thompson, if the WNBA still approached its fans like the NFL, it would boost growth.
“If they try and reach for the stars by trying to channel the NFL’s formula, they could do something special. And the NFL doesn’t turn anyone away. They don’t turn away Philadelphia Eagles fans. And you can’t tell me that the average Philadelphia Eagles fan is any better and more well-behaved than a Sophie Cunningham fan who wears an XX-XY to the game and sits courtside.”
Last month, fans who attended the Seattle Storm vs. the Indiana Fever game at Climate Pledge Arena were divided into two sections, in light of Sophie Cunningham opposing trans athletes participating in women’s sports in a July 21 ESPN profile.
During the game, two teenage girls who wore XX-XY T-shirts and carried a sign supporting Cunningham were accosted by Seattle Storm minority owner Celeste Keaton. Although the league banned the Storm’s co-owner for five home games, other included activist Riley Gaines, have raised issues where arena security has told them to put away their signs.
Then came former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom’s 2027 WNBA Draft declaration on August 7.
“After careful consideration and reviewing the current eligibility guidelines, I’m officially declaring myself a @WNBA prospect… If simply declaring who you are is all that’s required, then I meet every single requirement necessary to compete in the WNBA.”
Since then, former NBA player Enes Kanter has put the league under heavy scrutiny after declaring for the 2027 WNBA draft. Kanter has since pressured the league to clarify the word “women” in its Collective Bargaining Agreement.
On Sunday, he attended Wintrust Arena wearing “WOMAN noun. adult human female” text on his T-shirt. During the third quarter of the Fever-Sky game, Natasha Cloud and Kanter’s altercation was avoided after the former NBA player was escorted out of the arena.
“If they add ‘biological’ next to the word female, I will drop everything immediately.” “Until then, I'll be getting ready for the 2027 WNBA draft!” - Enes Kanter Freedom.
However, Thompson believes that instead of letting the division between fans persist, the WNBA should find a way around the challenges and welcome all fans like the NFL has done.
Viewership isn’t the issue with the WNBA. The league has witnessed exponential viewership in the last few seasons, especially since 2024, with Caitlin Clark’s entry. Additionally, in the first year of the fresh media deal, viewership is already up 12% from last season, which also per Sports Business Journal.
Now the question is whether the WNBA will follow the NFL’s motto or look at where the NBA has faltered and make a completely original strategy as its visibility continues to increase.