FORT WORTH, Texas — We have approximately two months remaining of terrifying headlines, such as “Transgenders Taking Over Sorority RushTok?” and “The Next Regular Season WNBA MVP Will Be a Man.”

Few words mobilize voters like “Trans,” and it doesn’t matter if the population of this community can fit in the standard living room. The November midterms are coming, and the people who need to win elections are currently doing what they do worst: Motivate us to vote for the person/party that will keep them employed.

Unintentionally thrust into this conversation is the WNBA, due partly because the biggest media platforms that pay attention to this league grab the laziest topics. And “Trans” creates more engagement than the discussion of if Minnesota Lynx are the clear favorite to win the WNBA title, or talking about the Dallas Wings hosting the Toronto Tempo on Wednesday evening in Arlington.

This week WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said a league “task force” will address this trans topic, and their potential participation. You know what that means. Memos. HR. Emails. Lawyers. And, worse, meetings. Just so many meetings that could be emails, which should be a text, that shouldn’t have to exist.

Here is the solution: If you were assigned male at birth, you can’t play in the WNBA. You can practice against WNBA players, but you can’t play in an actual regular season, or postseason, WNBA game.

As a league, any time this subject is broached you declare, “We’ve addressed this issue, and this is our policy. We respect everyone, and a foundation of this league is based on fair competition.”

Or, it could just cite comedian Dave Chappelle, who said during one of his routines, “What if LeBron James changed his gender? Can he stay in the NBA, or, because he’s a woman, does he have to go to the WNBA, where he will score 840 points a game?”

How the WNBA thought it avoided the ‘trans debate’

The WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement with the players association addresses the trans issue with clearly cloudy language. It was clear 20 years ago. Today, it’s as clear as a 16-ounce glass of water from the Trinity River.

Article XIII of the agreement states: “Section 1. Player Eligibility. (a) Only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA.”

Like most people, you probably missed the loophole. Nowhere to be found in this section, or the entire CBA, is the part that defines what a woman is. All of those lawyers missed that one detail in the WNBA contract with the Women’s National Basketball Players Association.

As a result, the lack of a definition has forced the league to come up with this “task force,” mostly in the name of appeasing some of its left-leaning fan base.

How the WNBA found itself in the trans debate

This discussion started when Indiana Fever guard, and social media star, Sophie Cunningham recently said to ESPN that she wants to protect young girls who “shouldn’t have to go against biological men” in sports.

The “threat” of this is like the Easter Bunny; we see and hear about it, but do you know anyone who has actually seen it?

Shortly after Cunningham’s comments went viral in late July, two young fans in Seattle wore shirts thanking Cunningham for her position when the Storm hosted the Fever; one of the Storm’s co-owners, Celeste Keaton, verbally confronted and cursed at the fans. The WNBA suspended Keaton for five games.

Now, former 11-year NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom announced on social media, “I’m officially declaring myself a WNBA prospect.”

He’s 34 years, 6-foot-10, and played 748 games in the NBA. If you are familiar at all with Kanter’s fearlessness on a variety of topics, including human rights violations in Asia, this stunt tracks.

The WNBA’s path toward ending its ‘trans problem’

At some point in the next week to 10 days, Engelbert will likely announce what her task force has devised, and it should irritate a few people; the league will have to deal with the consequences of a news day that potentially could include the endorsement of the President of the United States.

In our current political climate, you don’t want a Red, or Blue, President talking about your league, conference or sport. It’s not worth it.

Somewhere in this discussion the subject of the game needs to be addressed. There is a reason why tennis players follow the rating system; there is a reason why amateur golfers have a handicap; there is a reason why high school sports use a classification system; there is a reason why college sports has Division I, II, III and football features FBS and FCS.

On the lower levels of tennis and golf, boys and girls often compete against each other, until the game is no longer competitive. It’s about doing everything possible to make the competition fair.

There is a reason why men are still often hired to practice against women’s NCAA basketball, and WNBA, teams. Playing against a male does help the women’s basketball player improve.

If a person wants to transition to being a female, after the age of 18, that’s their right. But every action has a consequence, and should a person choose to pursue this path, it will mean surrendering the chance to play certain games.

Because no sane, rational person, no matter how liberal, wants to see a headline that reads, “WNBA’s MVP Was Once a Man.”

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