Men don’t belong in women’s basketball. The WNBA should write it down.
The WNBA has conceded that two men are men, and Family Brief's position is that the league must now write 'biological' into its eligibility rule1. Engelbert’s response is dated Oct. 16, 2026, and OutKick published it Oct. 20, 2026; reporter Jackson Thompson posted the news on X that day.
The lawmakers asked how the league defines women, and their letter said: “As a women's sports league, the WNBA must ensure the League remains exclusively for biological women.”; Article XIII, Section 1(a) of the 2026 collective bargaining agreement, negotiated by the league and its players’ union, says, “Only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA,” but does not define “women.” Engelbert did not supply that definition1; OutKick reports that her Oct. 16 letter announced no new eligibility rule, no amendment to the agreement, and no broader policy on transgender athletes.
“As a women's sports league, the WNBA must ensure the League remains exclusively for biological women.”
The request came from Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., and four House colleagues on Sept. 171. Reps. Sherri Biggs, Erin Houchin, John Rose and Zach Nunn signed with him2. The other questions concerned why Freedom and White were ruled ineligible and player and fan confrontations; the letter’s demand for a league exclusively for biological women made naming two men an incomplete answer.”
Stutzman had already pointed to the league's late-August ruling that Freedom and White were ineligible. In his words, 'This action indicates the League certainly understands the biological difference between men and women'2. If the league understands the difference, why will it not put the difference in writing?
A letter answers a committee; a rule binds the next season.
Engelbert is scheduled to retire at the end of 2026, so the next commissioner inherits the fix. Stutzman called her answer a start: 'The WNBA has just taken the first step in defining what a woman is for the sports community.' The second step is one word. Freedom told OutKick: 'We are adding the word biological next to the word female, this whole thing will end the next day.'1
The politics already point one way: a Napolitan News/RMG poll from November 2024, cited in American Principles Project's 'Defeating They/Them' report, found 75% of voters say biological males should not compete in women's sports3.
The next commissioner and the players' union should write 'biological' into Article XIII, Section 1(a) before the 2027 draft1. Parents who follow the WNBA should ask the league and the union a yes-or-no question: will the rulebook say 'biological,' yes or no? The House should keep asking until the answer is in the agreement.
Sources
FAMILY BRIEF The news and network for the American family.
