Angie Craig throws hat in the ring for WNBA commissioner

Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn) offered herself up to replace retiring WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who recently announced her retirement amid the league’s growing popularity and recent controversies.

“Hey, @WNBA, I’m a free agent in January,” Rep. Craig wrote on social platform X Friday.

Craig lost to Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan in the Democratic primary for retiring Sen. Tina Smith’s (D-Minn.) seat, in what was considered a win for progressives over moderates within the party.

She has been an avid supporter of her state’s WNBA team, the Minnesota Lynx, and even wagered with Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) about the outcome of the 2024 finals between the Lynx and the New York Liberty, but did not follow through on the bet in protest of a controversial call in the game

Her post responded to Engelbert’s retirement announcement after seven seasons leading the league. Under Engelbert’s tenure, the WNBA has grown from 12 teams to 15, with plans to expand to 18 by 2030, with recent seasons smashing viewership and attendance records .

However, Engelbert has also been criticized for discussions regarding transgender athletes, an issue which has become a major one for Republican lawmakers. She called it a complex and nuanced issue, saying in a memo that the league would continue discussions on the topic.

The conversation stemmed from comments made by Sophie Cunningham, a player for the Indiana Fever and teammate of superstar Caitlin Clark, who stated her priority was to advocate for, “young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”

Craig, who was the first lesbian mother elected to Congress and a co-chair of the LGBT Equality Caucus, has opposed similar efforts in Congress, denouncing the “ Protect Women’s Sports Act ” that would have rewritten Title IX to define sex as “reproductive biology and genetics at birth.”

“Plain and simple, the Protect Women’s Sports Act is transphobic — and this type of discrimination has no place in the halls of Congress,” she said in 2020 . “I am proud to do so today by emphatically denouncing this narrow-minded and hateful legislation.”