Gabby Williams (1) passes to a teammate during the Golden State Valkyries game against the Phoenix Mercury at Chase Center in San Francisco on Tuesday, June 9, 2026 in San Francisco.
Carlos Avila Gonzalez/S.F. Chronicle
Golden State Valkyries forward Gabby Williams recently found herself at the center of the WNBA’s biggest story for a comment she made nearly three months ago.
An X account with the handle “@BrickCenter_” posted a 37-second clip Thursday afternoon of Williams voicing her support for transgender athletes. As of Monday morning, the video had racked up more than 10 million views, 31,000 likes and 4,500 replies.
The clip was posted devoid of context. It did not state when or where Williams made her comments, leading various publications to falsely report that she said it on Thursday. In an on-court postgame interview after the Valkyries’ 94-76 win over the Dallas Wings on Friday, Williams said it had been a rough day for her off the court. She did not elaborate as to why, but said her teammates supported her throughout the day and that she felt “so much love from our fans, from our organization.”
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As it turns out, Williams made her comments on May 19 during a post-practice media availability in New York ahead of the Valkyries’ May 21 game against the Liberty. She answered three questions from a reporter who said she was working on a project for Them, an LGBTQ+ digital publication, ahead of Pride month and the WNBA’s 30-year anniversary.
The reporter, Jackie Powell, first asked Williams how she’s seen the WNBA’s acknowledgement of queer fans develop over her eight seasons in the league. Then, she asked if Williams noticed a turning point in which players became more willing to talk about LGBTQ+ issues. Lastly, Williams was asked what problems she feels remain for LGBTQ+ players in the league, which was the clip that circulated online.
“I think it’s trans rights now, is our new battle,” Williams said. “That’s (why) I was saying that the battles have changed. Like, our intentions are the same, but now the environment has changed. We see trans peoples’ rights being stripped away from them. There’s a lot of discourse around trans athletes and where they can compete in. I would welcome a trans athlete on my team or against my team, anytime. I don’t think it’s a problem in the world. It’s just another way to kind of attack trans people.”
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“BrickCenter” brands itself as a parody account of ESPN’s “SportsCenter.” It makes a living off of aggregating viral clips for engagement, one of several X accounts in the genre. Its profile picture mimics the “SportsCenter” logo, its bio says it is “The Worldwide Leader in Sports Fails” and it claims to be sponsored by Rainbet, a crypto casino and online gambling platform.
Recently, “BrickCenter” has seemed to latch itself onto the trans athlete debate despite the fact that it is largely irrelevant to the WNBA (there are no trans players in the league). The account has routinely posted clips of Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White, two former NBA players who recently announced their plans to declare for the 2027 WNBA draft.
The Williams video added another layer to the trans athlete debate, which has taken off in recent weeks after Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham touched on the topic in an ESPN profile published July 21. Cunningham said she wants to “protect young girls” from having to go against biological men, without any supporting evidence.
Cunningham’s comments sparked small protests ahead of Indiana’s games in Seattle and Portland. Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve wore a T-shirt that read “trans kids belong” against Cunningham and the Fever on Aug. 2. The two were seen speaking on the court ahead of the game; Cunningham said they each shared stories about their viewpoints, and left the conversation with “love and respect.”
The Valkyries have largely remained apart from the noise. The only member of the organization to speak publicly on the topic since Cunningham’s comments has been coach Natalie Nakase, who was asked for her thoughts ahead of the Valkyries’ Aug. 2 game against the Toronto Tempo. Nakase said she is “all about women, little girls deserving to play, and that includes trans women.”
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“For me, sports is about belonging,” Nakase said. “It’s about inclusivity. It’s about allowing everyone to be their authentic self. I’m big on that because I have been criticized for my height, for my ethnicity. I’ve been in those ‘you shouldn’t belong here,’ (conversations), and for me I don’t want that space, especially Golden State, to ever feel like that.”
The Women’s National Basketball Players Association released a statement Friday that condemned all “hate, abuse, and demonization of any person or group of people, including transgender people,” adding that the organization “will not be used as political pawns.” WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert sent a memo to teams on Friday that addressed the topic of “transgender athlete participation in women’s basketball.” Engelbert said it will be discussed this week by a task force of team presidents and general managers.