Shoulder nudges. Dirty looks. A sign confiscated mid-game. This is what a night at the WNBA looks like for Riley Gaines, a woman who insists controversy finds her whether she wants it or not.It is the same reputation that first attached itself to her back in 2022, when she tied transgender swimmer Lia Thomas for fifth at the National Collegiate Athletic Association championships – and became, overnight, the face of the fight over who gets to compete in women’s sport.Her latest battleground is the WNBA, a league enjoying record ratings and sellout crowds off the back of stars like Caitlin Clark, even as it becomes the newest flashpoint in America’s gender war.The controversy traces back to Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, who told ESPN in July that she wanted to protect young girls in locker rooms and in sport ‘who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.’ The comments have since triggered rallies outside arenas across the country and turned Cunningham into one of the most scrutinized sports stars in the United States.Gaines threw her support behind Cunningham almost immediately. She travelled to Minneapolis for a Fever-Lynx game, wore a shirt from XX-XY Athletics, the clothing brand promoting protection of women’s sports, and carried a handwritten sign reading: ‘Sophie, thank you. Signed, a girl mom.’ Riley Gaines has become the face of the fight against transgender athletes in women’s sports A pro-trans activist protests against Sophie Cunningham before a recent WNBA game Gaines (left) and Cunningham pose together as the WNBA’s culture war continues to rage onYet for all that, she insists she never went looking for a fight.’It’s kind of funny because you reach a point where that’s almost expected,’ Gaines told the Daily Mail. ‘I just want to make it very clear: I am not a provocateur. It might be surprising to some, but I don’t like confrontation. I never want to be an instigator, stir the pot, cause a problem, or make a scene.’Inside the arena, though, there was little reprieve. ‘The amount of dirty looks you get, and people who intentionally go out of their way to do a little shoulder nudge at you.’People who are very clear and have no problem publicly letting me know how they feel about me. More specifically, the shirt that I was wearing – I was wearing an XX-XY Athletics apparel shirt.’Then there was her own sign. ‘I was approached by – I’m assuming it was a security member, I don’t know if he was affiliated with the Minnesota Lynx or the WNBA – but he approached me and told me I had to put my sign down because it had Sophie’s name on it, and that was not allowed,’ Gaines says. ‘But guess what? I saw tons of signs with many different players’ names that were far less kind or positive than mine that were allowed to stay up.’It is a serious allegation of double standards, and one the WNBA has not put on record. ‘No, I got no communication,’ Gaines says of any response from the league since the incident.Cunningham, by contrast, had been quick to follow up. ‘I am following up on this. I want to get to the bottom of this,’ Gaines says the Fever guard told her in the days after the game – a promise Gaines says she has been consistent about since. Political activist Gaines claimed that a WNBA staffer told her to put down her sign which threw support behind star Sophie Cunningham amid the ongoing trans athlete debate Gaines claimed she was told to remove the sign because it had a name written on itShe is not the first to feel the heat over that particular item of clothing. Gaines pointed to Anna Lee Wilson, a Washington state teenager who was confronted by the Seattle Storm’s co-owner Celeste Keaton over the same apparel. The WNBA banned Keaton for five home games over the extraordinary scenes. Gaines also referenced an incident in Atlanta, where a mother and daughter were reportedly told to cover their XX-XY shirts or leave the arena during an Atlanta Dream-Fever game.It fits a pattern, Gaines says. ‘I do believe Sophie sent her a little care package in the mail following that altercation with the Seattle Storm owner,’ she says. ‘Sophie has been a fierce defender, which isn’t surprising given her loyalty and fierce defense for Caitlin Clark – that is just who she is as a person.’The pair spent time together after the Minneapolis game, not long after Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve wore a ‘Trans kids belong’ shirt on the sideline – widely read as a direct message to Cunningham over her stance.’I’m not surprised, right?’ Gaines says. ‘Given the fact that the league can’t even define what a woman is; given the fact that every time Sophie steps on the court, is subbed in, touches the ball, or her name is announced over the loudspeakers, she’s booed by what audibly sounds like the entire stadium. So I’m not surprised.’Gaines told Cunningham she understood how heavy that could be. ‘I told her, “Look, it can be really, really difficult,”‘ she says, recalling how reluctant and frightened she felt herself back in 2022, reading ‘horrible things’ and false headlines about herself. She says she wanted to extend Cunningham the same grace – to tell her it would be alright if she needed to take a step back, ‘not that she needs me to tell her that.’ The WNBA have admitted that arena security were wrong to tell a mother and daughter to remove their ‘offensive’ pro-women T-shirts during a game on Sunday night Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve made a bold statement of her own after she wore a ‘Trans Kids Belong’ shirt during the game, which her team won, 108-100 Cunningham (left) and Reeve (right) were seen having a heated discussion earlier this monthCunningham’s reply, Gaines says, was bold. ‘She said, “Riley, I’ve got it. I’m good. It doesn’t bother me when I hear people booing or when you see the headlines or whatever. It doesn’t bother me because I know what I’m doing is the right thing.”‘Cunningham’s composure, Gaines adds, is rooted as much in faith as in that conviction. ‘She was also understanding that we have a creator who created male and female very intentionally and uniquely in his perfect image, and a creator who doesn’t make mistakes,’ Gaines says. Cunningham was recently baptized and Gaines feels that belief is what gives her the security to withstand the noise – though she was careful to add she did not want to speak too much for Cunningham on what was a private conversation.WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has stayed almost entirely silent throughout, even as her head coaches wear political slogans courtside. Gaines’ verdict, though, is more nuanced than a simple pile-on.’I mean, of course, she’s led very poorly,’ Gaines says. ‘But when I was thinking about the effect of Cathy Engelbert’s leadership – or lack thereof – the WNBA is probably having the most viewership, profit, and revenue generation they’ve ever seen. ‘You’re kind of seeing the WNBA fail upward. If we’re judging the WNBA as a business, which it is at the end of the day, then Cathy Engelbert actually is doing a good job at it.’The bigger misstep, Gaines argues, was the since-scrutinized betting-related storyline involving Angel Reese and Paige Bueckers that was posted to the league’s own social media – a moment she says drew far less scrutiny than it should have, overshadowed by the Cunningham row.Then there is Enes Kanter Freedom. The former NBA star turned up to a WNBA game in a shirt bearing a blunt definition of a woman, was confronted by a player, and was ultimately removed from the arena. Gaines does not hesitate: ‘I think what he’s doing is genius, quite frankly, because he’s forcing the WNBA’s hand.’ WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert has been widely criticized for her handling of the issue Enes Kanter Freedom was ejected from Sunday’s WNBA game between Chicago and IndianaShe points to the images that surfaced of the confrontation, Kanter Freedom’s 7ft 2in frame towering over the players. ‘He makes them look like ants,’ she said – a visual, in her view, that says everything about the absurdity of what he is protesting.He had already declared for the 2027 WNBA Draft before that game, formally submitting a signed letter to the league that cited its own eligibility rules and argued that if self-identification is the standard, he meets it. Royce White followed within hours, declaring his own intention to enter the same draft. For all her support of Cunningham, Gaines admits she almost stayed away from Minneapolis altogether. A rally had been planned outside the arena before the game, but she skipped it. ‘Just with the existing threats that were there and knowing how I’m perceived in these environments, I didn’t even go,’ she says. ‘I’m not looking to get punched in the face; I don’t want to bring that along with me.’As for what happens next, Gaines is planning to keep showing up. She will be in Indianapolis this week, seated alongside Indiana’s Attorney General and is bracing for Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese to line up together for the US in the coming weeks.Her central demand remains unanswered. ‘I hope we have an answer from the WNBA about what a woman is – today, tomorrow, yesterday,’ she says. ‘If they were to do that, a lot of tension would be eased and people could just enjoy women’s basketball. That’s what I want to do. I just want to enjoy it. I want to cheer for the women who are playing and who have worked hard to compete at that level.’