WNBA pressed to bar transgender athletes from the league
by Kerry Picket · The Washington TimesA conservative Washington-based organization has called on the WNBA to prohibit transgender women from playing in the basketball league.
Penny Nance, CEO and president of Concerned Women for America, said the WNBA needs to “look in the mirror and do some soul-searching about what it stands for — fairness in women’s sports or not?”
“To avoid further chaos, bias, and potential harm against WNBA players, the WNBA should immediately adopt a policy that establishes only biological women can play basketball in the league,” she said.
Activism in the WNBA has “poisoned” the league for years, Ms. Nance said, but up-and-coming athletes are now being inspired by Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, who has taken a stand against transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.
Ms. Nance said it is time for the WNBA to defend women athletes, “not the activism that defends biological males stealing their opportunities.”
The friction over the issue was on display at a recent WNBA game, where Seattle Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton cursed at two young girls in the crowd for wearing “XX XY” T-shirts and holding a sign supporting Ms. Cunningham’s advocacy.
Ms. Nance called it “an outrage” that the girls were subjected to harassment by a WNBA team owner.
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“While that owner has been fined and suspended for five games, that will not prevent further harassment of fans or players,” she said. “The WNBA must now clarify its position on sex-based eligibility in women’s basketball, establish that the WNBA stands behind biological female players, and ensure that it will not subject any players or fans to viewpoint discrimination.”
“We applaud Sophie Cunningham for her courage in standing up for girls and women in sport. She is unafraid to say what everyone is thinking and completely in tune with the spirit of sport. The WNBA must do the same,” she said.
FTC’s ’ideological bias’ proposal called Orwellian
Washington Legal Foundation urged the Federal Trade Commission to withdraw a proposed policy statement that AI systems with “undisclosed ideological objectives” violate a federal law against unfair or deceptive business practices.
Under the proposed policy, if a company boasts its AI system as a superior model at answering user queries, but the platform provided responses the federal government found insufficiently supported, the FTC could bring an enforcement action.
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WLF said the FTC’s proposed statement suggests that companies can avoid this liability by posting a conspicuous disclaimer advising users that the platform has a hidden agenda.
WLF General Counsel Cory L. Andrews and Senior Litigation Counsel Zac Morgan wrote their concerns in a letter to FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson opposing the Commission’s proposed policy on “Suppression of Accuracy in Artificial Intelligence Systems.”
“The proposed statement, if enacted, would be such a measure. At core, it rests on a dangerous proposition: that an ideological valence brings an AI product within the meaning of 15 U.S.C. § 45, which bars ’unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce,’” they said.
“This understanding rests on an unstated assumption that there’s a natural and easily determinable distinction between fact and opinion, and government power can safely ensure the former keeps to the code.”
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Mr. Andrews and Mr. Morgan said that historically, letting government sort political and ideological speech into “true” and “false” categories has often failed, and the First Amendment specifically exempts areas of politics, history and “the good life” from official orthodoxy.
The WLF warns the policy would turn the FTC into a “Federal Truth Commission,” evoking George Orwell’s Ministry of Truth from the dystopian novel “1984.”
“Our constitutional tradition stands against the idea that we need Oceania’s Ministry of Truth,” they said. “Yet the proposed statement would transmogrify the Federal Trade Commission into the Federal Truth Commission. The Proposed Statement should be withdrawn.”
Libertarian group floats environmental permitting overhaul
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The Competitive Enterprise Institute has recommendations for rewriting federal environmental permitting.
In a new report titled “Permitting Reform for a Freer and More Prosperous Nation,” CEI said that lawmakers should eliminate the numerous governmental hindrances for projects and shield the ability of everyday Americans to use their private property.
“Most federal permitting programs are more than 50 years old, and the process has expanded well beyond the original intent,” said Daren Bakst, CEI director of the Center for Energy and Environment.
“Laudable goals, such as avoiding damage to the environment or to historic sites, have been misused to obstruct projects whose benefits far outweigh any real risks. Our leaders should eliminate the abuses and remove the obstacles that make infrastructure development and the ordinary use of private property more difficult,” he said.
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CEI presented the report as a blueprint for legislators.
In general, the report said, updated rules should:
• Be broad-based, applying across projects and industries and covering numerous statutes;
• Establish clear, objective, and predictable standards.
• Ensure alleged harms from a proposed project are legitimate.
• Remove policies that undermine basic notions of fairness.
• Respect private property rights.
• Stop prioritizing environmental concerns over human welfare.
“We possess the know-how to efficiently and effectively develop major projects, yet critical infrastructure necessary to meet basic needs, such as for electricity and water, are often unreasonably delayed,” Mr. Bakst said.
• The Advocates column is a weekly look at the political action players who drive the debate and shape policy outcomes in Washington. Send tips to theadvocates@washingtontimes.com. Click here to receive The Advocates in your inbox each week.
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