Your source for news on private equity, M&A, and real estate

Ep. 76 – Breakdown: WNBA Transgender PR Crisis

By

Jeremy Knauff

  |   August 13, 2026

  |   Categories: Public Relations Declassified

In this week’s Public Relations Declassified livestream, we will be breaking down the WNBA’s transgender PR crisis.

Key Takeaways:
• You don’t get to tell your audience about what they should believe
• You don’t get to hide from criticism of your brand
• The WNBA has done literally everything wrong in response to this PR crisis

Outline:
• WNBA announced they’d start letting trans players into the league
• NBA players called out the hypocrisy
• What mistakes did the WNBA make?
• How do they fix this?
• What do I think they’ll do?

Jeremy’s PR PSA:
Arguing with your audience about what they should believe is a surefire way to completely alienate them and destroy your brand.

Jackson Thompson’s coverage of the WNBA’s PR crisis:
• https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/former-nba-player-royce-white-declaring-next-wnba-draft-enes-kanter-announcement
• https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/wnba-commissioner-cathy-engelbert-sends-trans-inclusion-memo-enes-freedom-royce-white-announcements
• https://www.foxnews.com/person/t/jackson-thompson

Public Relations Declassified Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/publicrelationsdeclassified

Public Relations Community on X: https://x.com/i/communities/1875515644466069722

Join Spartan Community: https://community.spartanmedia.com/product/spartan-community-membership/