Valkyries Star Gabby Williams Would Welcome Trans Teammate With Open Arms

A comment that Golden State Valkyries star Gabby Williams made when speaking to the media on Thursday is raising eyebrows.

"I think it's trans, trans rights, right now, is our new battle," Williams said. She then added, "We see people's trans rights being stripped away from them; there's a lot of discourse around trans athletes and what they can compete in.

"I would welcome a trans athlete on my team or against my team, anytime," Williams added. "I don't think it's a problem in the world. It's just another way to kind of trans people. We've seen players like Layshia Clarendon, who stepped into that forefront, and have been brave enough, and courageous enough, to step up. So I guess that's the next battle we have to fight as athletes."

WNBA star Gabby Williams supports trans women playing in the league:

“I would welcome a trans athlete on my team or against my team.” pic.twitter.com/5DKMjXC040
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) August 6, 2026

Williams is referring to WNBA veteran Layshia Clarendon, who became the first openly transgender and nonbinary active player in league history upon undergoing top surgery in 2021.

While Williams is right that Clarendon was courageous to be the first person in WNBA history to make that decision, Clarendon had been born a biological woman. The current discourse that seems to be dominating the league right now stems from Sophie Cunningham's comments that she doesn't believe a person who was born a biological male and then transitioned should be able to compete in women's sports.

Tennis Star Coco Gauff's Comments Convey Need for Nuance Within Trans Conversation

This is a difficult topic for women's athletes (and most other people more broadly) to discuss, and Williams deserves a lot of credit for being willing to do so, regardless of how one feels about her sentiment.

Comments that 22-year-old women's tennis star Coco Gauff made about this topic at a National Bank Open post-match news conference Wednesday have gotten a lot of attention because of how she admitted the nuance and potentially conflicting feelings about the discourse.

“I guess [I] kind of agree with trying to protect the fairness in women’s sports, but also do not like the attack that it is creating. People who don’t really care, but just want to use this as a reason to attack the trans community. So I’m not really a big fan of that either," Gauff said.

It's ultimately up to each person to decide their stance on this polarizing topic. And it's not likely to go away any time soon, even though close to zero transgender athletes are competing in college or professional women's sports right now.

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