WNBA Team Co-Owner Fined, Suspended for Harassing Teen Fans over Opposition to Men in Women’s Sports

The Seattle Storm apologized after the team’s co-owner Celeste Keaton harassed two teenage fans during a home game over their opposition to trans-identifying males participating in women’s sports.

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Keaton was fined by the WNBA and suspended from the Storm’s next five home games for berating two teenage girls at Tuesday’s game against the Indiana Fever. The girls were wearing “XX XY Athletics” shirts and holding signs expressing support for Sophie Cunningham, a Fever guard who has spoken out in support of fairness in women’s and girls’ sports.

“We apologize that this happened,” the Seattle Storm said in a statement. “Everyone who attends a Storm game deserves to feel welcome, and we remain committed to creating an inclusive environment where every fan is treated with respect.”

The girls’ signs read, “Thank you, Sophie #8, for speaking up for girls!”

“Bravo to those girls for standing up for what they believe,” Cunningham posted on X. “You’ll be hearing from me soon.”

In an interview after the game, the teenage girls told podcaster Brandi Kruse that Keaton swore at them until one of them broke down in tears.

“This older lady comes up to us and she asks, ‘What are you guys doing?’” one of the girls told Kruse. “And she’s like, ‘Oh I hope Jesus can forgive you for what sin you’ve done.’” Then the woman called the girls “F***ing insane” and pointed to her head. One of the girls started sobbing.

“I’ve never been yelled at like that. I’ve had people hate on me on the internet, but it doesn’t really affect me as much,” she said. “That just took me by surprise because I thought she was going to be nice, and she just started screaming at us and cussing at us.”

Another woman told the girls that they were able have their opinions but they needed to “not be political about it.” The girls explained that they were just there to support Cunningham and the team.

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When the girls later learned that the woman who swore at them was a co-owner of the Storm, they were shocked and disappointed. They said the rest of the game was difficult to sit through.

“The whole time we were kind of on edge,” they recalled. The girls said the people around them tried to turn their backs toward them and create as much distance as possible. It wasn’t until later that they noticed the “No Hate in These United States” sign a spectator near them was carrying. Keaton wasn’t the only person to take issue with the girls: Another video taken during the game shows an adult man screaming at them over their support for Cunningham.

Before the game, dozens of people stood outside Climate Pledge arena in support of Cunningham. These fans were also promoting statewide ballot initiative IL26-638 that would protect “the integrity and fairness of women’s interscholastic sports” by preventing transgender-identifying men and boys from participating on women’s and girls’ sports teams.

When the group entered the stadium, they were heckled by fans who continued to boo Cunningham each time she touched the ball. Fans would also boo the girls when they took pictures before the game as well as between quarters.

This comes after Cunningham publicly announced her support for keeping transgender-identifying men out of women’s sports in an interview with ESPN last week.

“I truly believe there is a safe space and love for EVERYBODY. Biological girls, biological boys, trans women, and trans men,” Cunningham posted in response to the girls’ harassment. “Everyone is welcome at my table! You can disagree and still be kind.”

The girls echoed Cunningham’s sentiment.

“Maybe they should work on being more kind to people, even though our opinions differ,” one of the girls said. “We were being respectful and kind to people, and I don’t care if you think something else.”

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