Former NFL player Ryan Clark is breaking his silence on the current debate surrounding the WNBA. On an episode of his “Pivot” podcast, the media personality, who recently made headlines for his messy departure from ESPN, said the WNBA must “take a stand” against critics who have questioned the league’s eligibility policy.
I won’t speak the names of those irrelevant to the WNBA conversation, nor will I give life to a debate that hasn’t defined this league across 30 years of existence. There’s too much happening on the court to be distracted by noise from those looking for a moment.
I’d rather talk… pic.twitter.com/rQsnD6WIrb
— Ryan Clark (@Realrclark25) August 28, 2026
According to several reports from The Blast, eyes have been on the WNBA after a current Indiana Fever player voiced her displeasure with transgender women competing in women’s sports.
Her comments sparked backlash from fans and caused some league affiliates to issue statements disagreeing with her. It’s even prompted some people, such as Enes Kanter and Royce White, to try to make light of the situation by calling themselves transgender and vowing to declare for the upcoming draft.
Clark, however, feels the conversation about transgender athletes competing in the WNBA is moot because the problem doesn’t currently exist. “And we should stop having conversations about a make-believe issue that the WNBA has not had in 30 years of its existence,” Clark said on “The Pivot.”
Ryan Clark Says The WNBA Has To ‘Take A Stand’ Amid The Chaos
Clark went on to say that the WNBA “needs to take a stand and say they stand with the women that are on the court right now playing.” As he continued, the former Pittsburgh Steelers player said focus should be on the outstanding basketball that several of the league’s stars are playing.
“What should we – we should be talking about the fact that Sydney Taylor has gone from undrafted player to clutch bucket maker in the most important moments for her team. That Natasha Cloud, just 3 games before the incident happened, had 35 points, and she was looking for a team this offseason,” he said.
Clark isn’t alone in his thoughts. According to The Blast, WNBA legend Angel McCoughtry shared a similar statement during a recent interview and slammed Enes Kanter—the former NBA player who was recently removed from a Chicago Sky game for getting into a verbal altercation with Natasha Cloud.
“There’s a reason Enes is banned from his country, Turkey. Something’s going on with that,” she said. “Real NBA players, they don’t have time for that. They come and support our game and we figure out ways we can create and grow.”
During the Sky game, Kanter wore a shirt that read: “WOMAN. noun. adult human female.”
Kanter was banned from Wintrust Arena after Sky owner Michael Alter said he “has the potential to be a threat.”
Kanter Won’t Play In The WNBA
A source close to the league said after Kanter’s removal that the former Boston Celtics player “will not be eligible to play in the women’s league” after expressing interest.
In early August, a league spokesperson issued a statement on the ongoing topic and said the WNBA wasn’t worried about the issue moving forward.
“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,” the statement read.
Cloud Said The Players Of The WNBA Need ‘Protection’ From Kanter
On Saturday, August 29, Cloud spoke with the media about her spat with Kanter last week and said that the 34-year-old is “irrelevant.” Elsewhere, she said she believed Kanter should be permanently banned from all 15 teams so something catastrophic doesn’t happen in the future.
“We’re asking for protection, and that’s what protection looks like from a man,” she said. “We can’t not allow him in the arena before the game, but after the game, we can bring solutions to the table that best benefit putting our players first and protecting our players.”
