Breanna Stewart wished to wait.

After Friday’s apply, with Saturday’s Liberty-Fever tilt already carrying the normal weight of a marquee WNBA recreation, Stewart was requested about the competing rallies deliberate outside Barclays Center forward of tip-off.

“I honestly would love to weigh in tomorrow,” Stewart said. 

Saturday morning, she did. 

Less than 24 hours later, Stewart gathered with a small group of reporters, including The Post, for an in-depth dialog about the scheduled demonstrations, the WNBA’s strategy to transgender inclusion and what she believes the league should shield as its viewers continues to develop. 

Her central message was less about selecting a aspect than refusing to let the debate fracture what she views as one of the league’s defining qualities, which is its capacity to make folks really feel they belong. 

“The inclusivity [of the league] is the big thing for me,” Stewart said. “I don’t want to turn anyone away at the door because that’s not right either. But I know for a fact that people have safe space here when they come to these games, and that’s something that… is really precious, and you have to hold on to and make sure that doesn’t change.”

Fever star Sophie Cunningham’s remark in an ESPN article printed last month, in which she said she desires “to protect … young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men,” ignited a firestorm that put the WNBA on middle stage of a contentious political debate. 

In the subsequent weeks, rallies in support of Cunningham and “protect girls in sport” have been scheduled outside Fever video games, including in Seattle, Dallas and Chicago.

Counterprotests supporting transgender inclusion have also been deliberate.

Outside Barclays Center Saturday is expected to be the next host aspect of both demonstrations. 

Liberty ahead Breanna Stewart (30) drives previous Los Angeles Sparks ahead Dearica Hamby (5) in the third quarter at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on Thursday, August 13, 2026. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

“Knowing that rallies are happening on both sides shows the platform that the W has,” Stewart said, “and the stunts for attention are just continuing to try and ride the wave that we have.” 

Earlier this month, former NBA gamers Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White announced they were planning to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft because the WNBA’s stance on transgender athletes’ participation stays unclear.

The WNBA created an anti-hate activity drive to handle a number of points going through the league, but it hasn’t established a definitive coverage addressing transgender athlete eligibility. 

The league issued a assertion last week, saying, in half, “There are no immediate eligibility matters affecting the WNBA, and we strongly denounce the bad-faith efforts to use these topics to demean or marginalize others.”

Stewart said the absence of that coverage, though, has left room for controversy to fester. 

“Of course, if the league kind of had the rules set in place on inclusivity, it would kind of make it a cleaner picture for everyone else,” Stewart said. “With that, I’m definitely deferring to the WNBA and the task force. … Hopefully they were thinking about this beforehand … [and] didn’t come up just now.”

There should be a distinction between league coverage and particular person perception. 

Texas Values and a quantity of organizations, including Moms for Liberty, Moms for America, and the Independent Council on Women’s Sports, maintain a press convention in support of Indiana Fever participant Sophie Cunningham’sn in Dallas. MediaPunch / BACKGRID

The WNBA has lengthy been far more outspoken in contrast to other main American skilled sports activities leagues on points of social justice and equality. 

“That’s our superpower,” Stewart said. “The ability to kind of come together.” 

Stewart believes that willingness to use its collective voice stays a power, even as the league attracts new followers who may not share the same politics. 

Sophie Cunningham of the Indiana Fever seems to be on before a recreation against the Toronto Tempo on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, Canada. NBAE via Getty Images

“Everyone is entitled to their own opinion,” Stewart said. “This league is incredibly inclusive, in what we continue to fight for and stand up against. So we don’t want to take that platform away. We just want to make sure that everyone is still educated and knowing that like the things that brought this league together between the fight and the grit and like the camaraderie, we can’t let that take us apart by outside hate.”

Stewart, who identifies as an ally of the transgender neighborhood, doesn’t have all the solutions, and she didn’t supply a clear-cut decision to a divisive concern.

She did make it identified her need for the league to protect room for disagreement with out permitting disagreement to become division. 

“There’s so many different ways to be,” she said. “And you see there’s so many different personalities and people in our league, and who they love and what they stand for, and all these different types of things. And that doesn’t have to mean that we have to pick one.”

For Stewart, that level is value defending as the WNBA enters a new period of visibility.