Fans at Tuesday's Seattle Storm-Indiana Fever game were recorded on video berating teenage girls who attended to voice opposition to transgender athletes in female sports, with another video purportedly showing a Storm supporter spitting toward a Fever fan after Indiana's 105-95 victory.
In one clip shared by Fox News, a man is heard yelling "Garbage! Take the trash out!" while gesturing at the girls and reporter Brandi Kruse, who organized the protest in Seattle. Voices in the video called for security to remove the man, but the confrontation continued.
"Some of the fans were relentlessly booing at them," Kruse told Fox News Digital. "And I kind of turned around and said, 'Look, they're just teenage girls.'" Kruse said she noticed one of the girls crying at halftime. "I look over at halftime, and she's sobbing," she said. "They were so excited for those seats, like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see some of their favorite players. They stayed up the night before making signs."
The girls, both wearing XX-XY Athletics shirts, held signs thanking Indiana Fever forward Sophie Cunningham for her opposition to transgender athletes in women's sports. Kruse said the girls also faced a thumbs-down gesture from players.
The game drew wider national attention after Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton was accused by the girls of calling them "f***ing insane." Keaton has since been fined and banned from the team's next five home games, and Storm spokespeople issued an apology.
Cunningham, 29, responded to the incident on X, writing that she believes there is "a safe space and love for EVERYBODY" but called Keaton's behavior "truly embarrassing" and said it "unfortunately shows the type of leader she is." She also praised the girls for standing up for what they believe.
Before the game, a crowd of a few dozen gathered outside Climate Pledge Arena to support Cunningham and promote Washington state ballot initiatives 638 and 011, which would bar transgender students from participating in girls' athletics.
Neither Cunningham nor Caitlin Clark spoke to reporters postgame. A Fever public relations representative issued a statement saying neither the organization nor Cunningham had any knowledge of the demonstration or contact with its organizers.
