Amid WNBA Saga, Project B Says It Will Launch With Olympic Gender Policy

While the WNBA grapples with its gender eligibility guidelines, a new rival women's basketball league, Project B, is criticizing the WNBA's handling of the issue. Co-founder and former WNBA star Alana Beard expresses disappointment in the WNBA leadership for not taking a stand amid non-basketball narratives dominating the sport's discourse.

Project B plans to launch in January, focusing on creating joy and delivering the highest quality of basketball. Several WNBA stars, including Nneka Ogwumike, Jonquel Jones, and Sophie Cunningham, have signed with the league. The WNBA has not yet responded to a request for comment. Project B will follow the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Federation Internationale de Basketball (FIBA) gender eligibility guidelines, aiming to provide consistency and confidence for players and stakeholders.

The IOC recently announced a policy banning transgender women from competing in female categories at the Olympics, citing fairness, safety, and integrity. FIBA will follow this policy until further review in 2027. The WNBA's eligibility rules, collective bargained, state that only women are eligible to play, with no mention of identity or gender assigned at birth.

Project B has not disclosed its league size but expects to launch a men's league as well. The IOC has implemented genetic sex testing for female athletes, requiring a one-time test for the presence of the SRY gene, which would result in a ban from female sports categories if positive.