Eric Conn, an antisemitic far-right Christian nationalist pastor at Refuge Church in Utah, knows what causes “transgenderism,” and it’s the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).
In a July 29 post published on X, Conn wrote, “Women’s sports are a key propaganda & discipleship tool of the Longhouse™.” The longhouse is a pejorative metaphor used by right-wingers to describe modern Western bureaucratic society as an over-feminized, safety-obsessed collective that suppresses individual male ambition, hierarchy, and open conflict.
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“WNBA is a hot bed of androgyny and homosexuality that inevitably leads to transgenderism,” he added.
His claim is overstated to say the least, since the WNBA has only had one known out nonbinary and trans player, Los Angeles Sparks guard Layshia Clarendon, who retired in 2024; and even they were assigned a female sex at birth.
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Conn made his comments on a video of two teen girls who attended a Tuesday night WNBA game between the Seattle Storm and the Indiana Fever in Seattle, Washington while holding a sign thanking transphobic Fever player Sophie Cunningham “for speaking up for girls.” Cunningham made recent comments against trans athletes. The girls also wore t-shirts of the anti-trans clothing brand, XX-XY Athletics.
Seattle Storm co-owner reportedly Celeste Keaton swore at the girls, leading the WNBA to ban her from attending the team’s next five home games and pay an undisclosed fine, ESPN reported. The team apologized for her actions.
“We respect the league’s decision to fine and suspend co-owner Celeste Keaton,” the Storm said in a statement Thursday. “We remain committed to creating a welcoming and respectful environment for anyone who attends a Storm game.”
Conn’s social media is littered with antisemitic and Islamophobic messages, screeds against “androgyny,” others saying that women should never be judges or soldiers or domineering over their husbands.
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