Outkick founder Clay Travis has offered to pay $10million to WNBA champions the Las Vegas Aces if they can beat a high school boys basketball team of his choosing amid the league’s transgender drama.
The divisive topic of trans athletes in women’s sports has engulfed the WNBA of late after Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham recently claimed she wanted to ‘protect young girls’ from ‘biological men’.
Cunningham’s comments have sparked fierce debate across America, with Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve even wearing a ‘Trans Kids Belong’ T-shirt during their game against Indiana on Sunday and Fever head coach Stephanie White admitting she doesn’t believe ‘exclusion is the answer’.
While liberals have condemned her, and most high-profile WNBA figures have refused to back her statement, Cunningham has received support from a number of conservative figures, including political activist Riley Gaines and tennis icon Martina Navratilova.
Right-wing commentator Travis, whose conservative news site Outkick has frequently spoken out against trans athletes in women’s sports over the years, has also weighed in on the controversy in recent days, applauding the Fever player for ‘standing up for actual women’.
Clay Travis (left) has offered to pay $10million to WNBA champions the Las Vegas Aces if they can beat a high school boys basketball team
Sophie Cunningham has ignited debate by claiming trans men should not play women’s sports
And as the outrage over Cunningham’s remarks continues, he has even challenged the Aces to prove there is no difference between men and women by taking on a high school boys team.
If they can beat the team of teenagers, Travis is prepared to pay the reigning WNBA champions an eight-figure sum.
‘Important announcement: I am upping my offer, $10 million dollars for a head-to-head basketball game between the defending WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces and a boy’s high school state title team of my choice. If the Aces beat my team, I will give them $10 million,’ he posted to X on Monday.
‘If the boys win, I will give them $10 million to distribute as they see fit to their team members. Game on pay-per-view with all profits donated to Tunnel 2 Towers to provide mortgage free homes to families of deceased soldiers, police & first responders.
‘This will be the most money ever paid to win a single basketball game. A modern day battle of the sexes. $10 million to the winning team.’
The Daily Mail has contacted the Las Vegas Aces for comment.
Cunningham first ignited the debate by insisting that young girls ‘shouldn’t have to go against biological men’ when playing sports, and every Fever game since has seen both pro and anti-trans protests inside and outside the arena.
Minnesota coach Cheryl Reeve wore a pro-trans shirt during their game against Indiana
On Sunday, protestors on each side of the debate clashed outside the arena, while Lynx coach Reeve was seen in an animated discussion with Cunningham at the side of the court while wearing her ‘Trans Kids Belong’ shirt.
Indiana superstar Caitlin Clark was also involved in a testy exchange with a reporter after being asked about the controversy surrounding her teammate.
Clark had no interest in sharing her own thoughts on the topic, instead shutting down two reporters who quizzed her about Cunningham’s stance and insisting the team’s focus is on basketball.
‘I think, for us, it’s not really a discussion we really have in our locker room,’ she said to a packed media room after the 108-100 loss. ‘I think it’s for leagues and the governing bodies to work with their athletes to find solutions, but our focus is on basketball.
‘That’s what we talk about and how we can get wins, and, obviously, we didn’t do that tonight.’
