A WNBA task force of team presidents and general managers met Wednesday to discuss transgender athlete eligibility but emerged without adopting any new rules, according to a league statement provided to ESPN.

The meeting comes amid weeks of escalating controversy. Demonstrators both for and against transgender inclusion have staged rallies outside Indiana Fever games since guard Sophie Cunningham said in an ESPN interview that she supports barring transgender girls and women from women's sports. The debate intensified further after two former NBA players, Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White, publicly declared themselves eligible for the WNBA draft, saying they identify as women.

No policy on the books

The WNBA currently has no publicly available policy governing the eligibility of transgender or intersex athletes. The league's 2026 collective bargaining agreement, signed in March, states only that "players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA," without further defining the term. No known transgender woman has ever played in the league, according to Yahoo Sports.

In its statement, the league said the meeting "covered a wide range of topics, including ongoing discussions on transgender athletes and the continued hate and vitriol directed at players online," and pledged to "continue to engage all league stakeholders in the coming weeks and months" and approach the issue "thoughtfully and in alignment with the values of our league."

WE WILL APPROACH THESE IMPORTANT CONVERSATIONS THOUGHTFULLY.

What's next

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has previously said the league intends to continue talks on the issue in the coming weeks, but has not committed to a timeline for a formal policy. Legal analysts note that whatever the league ultimately decides is likely to draw scrutiny from multiple directions — and, potentially, litigation — given the CBA's undefined language and the intensity of the public debate surrounding it.