OAKLAND – Golden State Valkyries star forward Gabby Williams reaffirmed her support for trans athletes on Monday, revealing that she received death threats and had security concerns regarding her safety for her previous comments advocating for trans rights earlier this season.
“Ballhalla became my safe space. I'll never stop fighting for those who maybe can't fight for themselves in this moment,” Williams said Monday morning at the Valkyries' exit interviews at the team's Sephora Performance Center practice facility when asked what it's like to play for a fan base and a franchise that speaks out for inclusion, knowing that she's a vocal advocate for the trans and LGBTQ+ communities.
“I'll continue to use my platform in that way, but it's scary. Obviously, I was getting plenty of death threats. There (were) some security issues and stuff, and there were moments where I was like, how am I gonna play through all this? And then I would walk into Ballhalla and be like, oh, that's how. So I want to thank our fan base for just being themselves because it allowed me to be myself, and that's what the Bay Area is all about. The Bay Area is a pioneer in these kinds of issues and topics. So I'm proud to represent the Bay.”
It was the first time Williams revealed on the record that she received death threats and suffered security concerns stemming from her views and comments on trans athletes. In May earlier this season, WNBA reporter Jackie Powell asked Williams at a shootaround during the Valkyries road trip to New York City what issues LGBTQ+ players in the WNBA currently face, to which Williams answered that “trans rights is our new battle.”
“That’s what I think that I was saying — that the battles have changed,” Williams said. “Like, our intention’s been the same, but now the environment has changed. We see trans people’s rights being stripped away from them. There’s a lot of discourse around trans athletes and where they can compete in. I would welcome a trans athlete on my team or against my team anytime. I don’t think it’s a problem in the world. It’s just another way to kind of attack trans people … So I guess that’s the next battle that we have to fight as athletes.”
However, it wasn't until three months later that Williams' vocal support of the community received attention online, when a social media parody account on X known as “Brick Center” dug up the clip from a longer video that Brian Fleurentin posted for The Local W in an attempt to drum up clicks and panic regarding the trans athlete political firestorm that overtook the league this year.
The clip of Williams was posted devoid of context, which led many to believe she had made those comments at the height of the contentious political discourse because just a few weeks earlier, the subject of trans athletes in women's sports escalated in the WNBA following ESPN's feature on Sophie Cunningham, in which the Indiana Fever guard said, “I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn't have to go against biological men.”
The Valkyries' support of trans athletes
Williams' support for trans athletes aligns with the values of the Valkyries, an organization based in a historical hub for LGBTQ+ rights and advocacy. Around the same time, Williams' coach Natalie Nakase also expressed her support for trans athletes.
“For me, sports is about belonging. It's about inclusivity. It's about allowing everyone to be their authentic self,” Nakase said on Aug. 2 during her pre-game press conference. “I'm big on that because I have been criticized for my height, for my ethnicity. I've been in those: ‘You shouldn't belong here' [conversations] many times. And for me, I don't want that space, especially Golden State, to ever feel like that. So I'm all about women, little girls deserving to play, and that includes trans women. So I'm all about inclusivity.”
It's Williams, Nakase, and the Valkyries' support and advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community that endears this team to its fan base. Williams' “For the gays!” slogan has become the fan base's calling card after she said on the mic in the arena that she couldn't let Golden State lose during their Pride Night game against the Atlanta Dream. Thus, Williams reaffirming her support for the trans athletes is just another reason why the Valkyries fans love her, on top of her delivering the Bay Area a championship and earning WNBA Finals MVP.