The WNBA is still having a heck of a time definitively saying what a woman is, but according to a letter from league commissioner Cathy Engelbert to Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White are not it â women, that is.
Stutzman joined OutKick's Dan Dakich on the Wednesday edition of "Don't @ Me with Dan Dakich" to discuss it.
Dakich asked the representative point-blank what the league needed to put in writing so that this discussion â which Dakich called "dumbest conversation ever" â could be put to rest.
Stutzman had a pretty straightforward solution and one that would even allow the league to wipe its hands of criticism from the lefties by passing the buck.
"Well, I think they could just follow another organization's definitions," Stutzman suggested. "Say they're going to follow the Olympics organization's definition. They don't even have to define it themselves â there are already other organizations that define what a biological woman is."
That's about as easy as it gets. The International Olympic Committee took one on the chin from the pro-men in women's sports crowd, and, would you believe, the IOC is still, at last check, alive and kicking.
Still, as Stutzman pointed out, the league shouldn't even need to hide behind another organization, because it does seem to know the difference between men and women.
"But apparently it's not hard, because Cathy Engelbert can decide that Enes Freedom is a male without even meeting him in person," Stutzman said. "So, it can't be that hard."
The Atlanta Dream and Golden State Valkyries left the court for the national anthem before the first two games of the WNBA Finals. Now Riley Gaines is arguing that those decisions should carry consequences when athletes seek to represent the United States internationally.
"It’s my personal opinion that if you kneel for the flag and what it represents, you shouldn’t be able to represent the USA at the Olympics," Gaines wrote on X.
"The American flag and our national anthem do not represent whichever political party or administration happens to be in power. They represent the American people, our shared identity, the freedoms we enjoy, and the generations of men and women who fought, sacrificed and died to preserve those freedoms," Gaines said.
"Players who leave the court specifically to avoid the national anthem are making a deliberate statement. They are free to do so, of course. Free speech includes the freedom to withhold respect."
"But I’m of the mind that choice has consequences when the same athletes later seek the honor of representing the United States on the international stage."
Neither Finals team nor the WNBA has answered OutKick’s questions about the anthem absences. Nor has the NBA, whose commissioner, Adam Silver, is helping lead the search for the WNBA’s next commissioner.
Gaines said patriotism does not require blind allegiance to a political party or pretending America is without flaws. But she argued that athletes seeking to represent the country should be judged on how they treat its anthem.
"If an athlete treats standing for the anthem as optional or objectionable during the WNBA season, it is reasonable to question whether they are prepared to accept the full weight of representing the country when the spotlight is global," she said.
Former Georgia state Rep. Vernon Jones called Tuesday for players from both teams to lose their eligibility to represent the United States in Olympic basketball.
Jones wrote that those players "should be ineligible to play on the U.S. Women’s Olympic Basketball Team."
Atlanta’s Team USA connection includes Angel Reese and Rhyne Howard
Reese and Howard were both named to Team USA’s 2026 Women’s World Cup roster. The Dream announced their selections in August, noting that they became the first two players in franchise history selected together for the United States at a five-on-five Women’s World Cup or Olympics.
Golden State had no players on that U.S. World Cup roster, but Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase served as a U.S. assistant coach. Golden State star Gabby Williams represents France.
Both Reese and Howard stood for the national anthem while representing the United States at September’s FIBA Women’s World Cup.
But representing the United States internationally comes with an extra responsibility to show respect for the country at home.
And that responsibility doesn't disappear when the USA jersey comes off and the WNBA jersey goes on. Staying off the court while the anthem plays during the WNBA Finals falls short of the standard we should expect from athletes entrusted with representing this country.
Sage Steele warns anthem absences could drive fans away
Former ESPN anchor Sage Steele also criticized the league in a social media video.
Steele accused the WNBA’s players, coaches and leadership of disrespecting the country by leaving the court for the anthem.
"So are they free to express themselves the way they want? Absolutely. But there’s a cost to it," Steele said.
"And I just hope they realize that this constant lack of respect is going to turn fans away forever. They’re not going to come back, and it’s going to be their own fault," Steele added.
Players are free to express themselves, but as Steele noted, that freedom can come with a price. We're not calling for the players to be jailed.
The First Amendment limits the government’s power to restrict speech, but it doesn’t require fans to support those choices or critics to stay quiet. We have the right to express our disapproval, too.
WNBA rulebook calls for an anthem lineup
Both Finals teams were off the floor during the anthem before Saturday’s opener and Monday’s Game 2 at Chase Center. In both games, the players returned within seconds of the performance ending.
The WNBA’s 2026 official rulebook includes a provision calling for players, coaches and trainers to stand and line up in a dignified posture along the sidelines or foul line during the national anthem.
OutKick contacted the WNBA and both teams after Game 1, followed up Sunday and again Tuesday. The inquiries sought explanations for the absences, clarification of the league’s anthem requirements and the teams’ plans for Game 3 on Wednesday night in Atlanta.
Those questions remain unanswered.
For Gaines, the responsibility goes beyond a WNBA pregame routine.
"Wearing the USA jersey is not a private entitlement that comes with athletic success. It is a public responsibility," she said.
Last weekend, she got the birthday festivities started out in Europe with a bikini beach day, as one does when they turn 42. On Tuesday, she was launching a new collection for her clothing line.
Hey, look, those European vacations aren’t going to pay for themselves. Plus, we know that nothing is slowing the Olympic champion, New York Times best-selling author, founder of her own foundation, entrepreneur, investor and dog mom down.
That's all from her Instagram bio and there's no mention of being a model for her own clothing brand in there. And I guess the clothing brand would fall under the entrepreneur umbrella?
I think OutKick’s Joe Kinsey did a good job of giving Vonn her flowers in his coverage of her bikini beach day to kick off her birthday weekend. As he noted, "She could start a podcast, sit on her ass all day yapping about random topics while crushing red wine."
Destroying her leg on the slopes earlier this year would have been the perfect excuse for getting into all that. But she has more to give. Like tiny coats and white bodysuits Jake Browning's wife, Stephanie, would be proud of.
This collection, which evidently can keep you warm without a top on, if that's in fact what the message is behind the second picture in the carousel, is about vibes. As if you needed me to tell you that after scrolling through all the pictures.
That's plain to see, as is the fact that Lindsey Vonn isn't your average champion, author, foundation founder, entrepreneur, investor and dog mom.
Yes, she's another year older, but I highly doubt she's taking the foot off the gas pedal and stepping into a podcast studio full-time. Not with a profound birthday message like the one she shared:
"Age is a funny thing… my perspective of life at 30 was that (especially as an athlete) I was over the hill, but now that I’m in my 40’s I feel the knowledge of life that I have amassed makes me feel somehow much younger and more confident in who I am," she wrote.
"Despite my crash and all of the things that have happened to me, the good, the bad the ugly… I’m always thankful to be in this life. Thankful for all the love and support I’ve received. 🙏🏻❤️ cheers to another one!"
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