WNBA player faces backlash over op-ed criticizing IOC for policy to protect women's sports

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WNBA player Brianna Turner faced social media backlash after she wrote an op-ed expressing her displeasure with the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) policy to keep men out of women’s sports.

Turner, who recently signed a contract with the Las Vegas Aces after playing professionally in Australia, wrote in USA Today that she didn’t believe the new policy the IOC implemented actually protected women’s sporting events.

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Indiana Fever forward Brianna Turner reacts after defeating the Atlanta Dream in game three of the first round of the 2025 WNBA playoffs at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Ga., on Sept. 18, 2025. (Dale Zanine/Imagn Images)

The IOC said it would use genetic testing to ensure that women’s events only feature females. Turner accused the IOC of using the new policies to "scapegoat" transgender athletes while ignoring "real" issues regarding women in sports.

"Policies that single out transgender women and athletes with intersex variations do not protect women’s sports. They manufacture a scapegoat while the real challenges to women’s sports go unaddressed: unequal funding, limited access to training and facilities, pay disparities, male-dominated leadership, gender-based violence and harassment across race, sex, sexual orientation and gender identity," Turner wrote on Friday.

She also denied the IOC's argument that the new policy is being enacted to make sure that female sports are safe and fair, claiming there were no biological advantages in transgender athletes.

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