President Donald Trump is raising eyebrows again after a resurfaced clip showed him trying to bring NBA star LeBron James into the debate around transgender athletes while mocking the WNBA.
The WNBA has been at the center of controversy after Indiana Fever player Sophie Cunningham said she wants "to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.” She called her beliefs "common sense," stressing that "it’s really important to protect children, and that’s little girls who are also involved in that category."
With Cunningham under scrutiny, an old clip of Trump resurfaced online in which he joked that he would be "the greatest women's basketball coach ever." Speaking at the America First Policy Institute in July 2022, Trump quipped that he would simply ask James whether he had any "desire to be a woman."
He said:
"I tell you what, I'd be the greatest women's basketball coach. Because I don't like LeBron James, I like Michael Jordan much better. But I'd go up to LeBron James and I'd say, 'LeBron, 'Do you ever have any desire to be a woman? Because what I'd love you to do is star on my time that I'm building up.'"
"I'll have the greatest team in history. Nobody will lose. Nobody will ever come within 70 points of this team. And we have to change that and we have to make it okay to talk about.'"
"You know, the young lady I was talking about is afraid to talk about. She's shunned and she's canceled when she talks about it. This is crazy."
You can see the resurfaced clip below.
It's unsurprising that this clip would make the rounds given the administration we have.
Last year, Trump signed an executive order barring transgender women from competing in women's sports. The directive took effect immediately and applies to high school, college, and grassroots athletics. It also instructs the Education Department to investigate schools suspected of failing to comply.
Republicans have argued the policy protects fairness in women's sports, while LGBTQ advocacy groups and human rights organizations have condemned it as discriminatory.
The order aligns with policies already adopted by several major sports governing bodies, including those overseeing swimming, track and field, and golf, which prohibit transgender women who have undergone male puberty from competing in elite women's events.
The resurfaced clip has exposed Trump to further criticism.
Last year, Trump was called out after he was asked by a conservative reporter at the end of Women's History Month to give his definition of a "woman"—only to show that he doesn't even know his own talking points.
When asked to define "woman" and "why is it important that we understand the difference between men and women," Trump defined a woman as someone who "can have a baby under certain circumstances" and claimed women are "much smarter than a man." He also joked that a woman is someone who "doesn't give a man even a chance of success."
Turning to transgender athletes, Trump argued that allowing men to compete in women's sports is "ridiculous" and "very unfair to women." Despite what Trump may say, no men are competing in women’s sports and in reality, a small number of transgender girls and women have participated in female sports at various levels, often adhering to strict medical guidelines to do so.
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