University of Connecticut women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert should try to shift the league's dialogue away from transgender issues because fans don't want to watch "another protest movement."
"Nobody's coming to watch another political statement. They're not. They're coming to watch a basketball game," Auriemma said in a CNBC Sport interview.
The WNBA has become a flashpoint in debates over race, gender and sexuality as the league draws greater attention. There have been recent rallies at Indiana Fever games both for and against transgender participation in women's sports after comments made by Fever guard Sophie Cunningham saying she wants to "protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn't have to go against biological men."
Earlier this month at a Fever game, Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve wore a shirt that said "Trans Kids Belong."
