WNBA All-Star charity initiative supports sports group that says it is ‘moving beyond the binary of girl’

The WNBA is celebrating its landmark 30th season with a new All-Star initiative that the league says is designed to help girls get involved in sports.

However, one Chicago-area organization has been selected to benefit from the league’s $100,000 All-Star prize pool it says on its website It “goes beyond the ‘girl’ binary” and welcomes “gender-inclusive participants regardless of gender identity or expression.”

The organization is Girls in the Game, the charity affiliated with “Team Spoon” at the 2026 WNBA All-Star Game.

Accordingly League’s statement on July 15WNBA All-Star teams will compete for a $100,000 prize pool that will benefit two Chicago-area organizations “dedicated to getting girls interested in sports.” The winning team’s organization receives $70,000, while the runner-up’s organization receives $30,000. Team Coop plays for Angels Athletics, while Team Spoon supports Girls in the Game.

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The WNBA described Girls in the Game as an organization that “partners with Chicago schools, parks and community centers to deliver sports, health and leadership programs.”

This sounds simple enough until you dig deeper into the Girls in the Game website.

OutKick/Fox News Digital reviewed the organization’s website and found language that raises obvious questions about how Girls in the Game defines “girl.”

Under the heading “We champion inclusivity,” Girls in the Game says: “Moving beyond the ‘girl’ binary, we welcome LGBTQ+ youth and gender-focused participants regardless of gender identity or expression.”

Wait, what?

A screenshot from the Girls in the Game website says the organization “goes beyond the ‘girl’ binary.” The screenshot was taken on July 20, 2026. (Girls in the Game website / Screenshot)

Girls in the Game is not a general youth charity working with girls. The organization continually shapes its mission around girls, girls’ sports, and girls-only spaces. So when it’s said that it “goes beyond the ‘girl’ binary,” people deserve to know what that actually means.

OutKick/Fox News Digital was unable to confirm whether any biological males participated in Girls in the Game’s girl-centered sports program.

According to him 2025 annual reportGirls in the Game served 3,059 participants in FY25. The Chicago After School program alone served 921 participants, and girls “play sports, learn about healthy lifestyle choices, and develop leadership skills in an all-girl environment,” the report says. The report also notes that the program provides “a safe, non-competitive environment for girls to learn and be physically active.”

The organization’s public program materials do not clearly state whether participation is based on biological sex, gender identity, or some other eligibility standard.

But Girls in the Game’s own LGBTQ resource pages also direct users to services related to gender identity. One page lists Howard Brown as a resource that includes “gender-affirming health care” and “trans and non-binary care,” as well as a support group for “BIPOC, trans, non-conforming, questioning individuals” and the Trans Lifeline.

Another Girls in the Game LGBTQ resource page lists God’s Closet, which it describes as offering “clothing and tailoring for gender non-conforming/trans people,” along with “Gender-Affirming clothing, makeup, community resources.” This page also lists a support group for “BIPOC trans, non-conforming, questioning individuals” and the Trans Lifeline.

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If the WNBA is promoting this as an initiative to get girls interested in sports, and one of the beneficiaries says it goes beyond the binary definition of “girl,” then the league and organization need to explain who is eligible for these programs.

WNBA All-Star beneficiary Girls in the Play says the league is “moving beyond the ‘girl’ binary” in framing its $100,000 prize pool to keep girls in the sport. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

OutKick/Fox News Digital reached out to Girls in the Game to ask if biological males who “self-identify” as girls, transgender girls, “non-binary,” or “gender inclusive” are eligible to participate in girl-centered sports programs.

OutKick/Fox News Digital also asked whether any Girls in the Game programs operate as girls-only venues, whether those programs are limited based on biological sex or gender identity, whether parents are told prior to enrollment that the organization “goes beyond the ‘girl’ binary” and whether WNBA All-Star money will be unlimited or directed to a specific program.

Girls in the Game did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

OutKick/Fox News Digital also reached out Angels AthleticsThe Team Coop affiliate asked whether girls’ basketball and girls’ sports programs were limited to biological girls or open based on gender identity. Angels Athletics also did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Then there’s the WNBA.

Before selecting the organization for its All-Star initiative, OutKick/Fox News Digital asked the league if it was aware of the language that Girls in the Game “goes beyond the ‘girl’ binary.”

OutKick/Fox News Digital also asked whether the league believes an organization that says it has moved beyond the binary definition of “girl” is complying with an initiative described as including girls in sports, whether the WNBA asks Girls in the Game about the eligibility of biological males who identify as girls or “gender-inclusive” participants, and whether the WNBA supports biological males participating in girls’ youth sports programs if they “identify as girls”.

The WNBA did not respond to OutKick/Fox News Digital’s request for comment.

An official WNBA All-Star Game Wilson basketball is played on the court at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. (Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images)

Maybe there is a simple explanation.

Girls in the Game may argue that their programs are not competitive or focus on youth development rather than official leagues. But this does not answer the important question. The WNBA has not announced a prize pool initiative to help “gender-sensitive” youth become involved in sports. The money will benefit organizations dedicated to getting girls involved in sports, it said.

Meanwhile, while Girls in the Game describes some of its own programming as taking place in an “all-girl environment,” it also says it “goes beyond the ‘girl’ binary” and welcomes participants regardless of gender identity or expression.

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Whether the sport is competitive or not is not the only issue. The problem is that an organization built around girls’ sports fields openly advertises that these fields are not just for girls.

As for the WNBA, perhaps the league could say it chose the organization for its broader youth development efforts and that eligibility isn’t a question because the money isn’t tied to competitive girls sports.

These are not difficult questions. All this confusion can be cleared up with a simple email reply. Instead, Girls in the Game, Angels Athletics and the WNBA made no such offer.

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The WNBA is using the All-Star Game, one of the biggest events of the season, to promote an initiative centered around “getting girls interested in sports.”

The league wants credit for helping keep girls in sports; This is, of course, a noble effort.

But before the commissioner’s office pats itself too hard on the back, it should probably explain what the word “girls” means.