The WNBA Banned Storm Co-Owner Celeste Keaton from 5 Home Games for Berating 2 Teenage Sophie Cunningham Fans
The sign read, “Thank you Sophie for speaking up for girls!”
Ahnaleigh Wilson traveled to D.C. earlier this year for Supreme Court hearings on Title IX and sex-based sports alongside Riley Gaines. She’s a junior at Eastmont High School east of Wenatchee, and she’s been public on the issue since the track meet loss in 8th grade.
Wilson and her friend were courtside at Climate Pledge Arena when Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton walked up. They say she started calm, asking what they were doing, then pivoted to religion: “I hope Jesus can forgive you for what sin you’ve done,” and, “God can save you.” Then, they say, she was screaming and pointing at her own head, calling them “f—ing insane.” One of the girls was sobbing by halftime.
They’d made the signs at home the night before and wore XX-XY Athletics shirts, a brand aligned with Fever guard Sophie Cunningham’s opposition to trans women in women’s sports. Independent journalist Brandi Kruse, who interviewed them for her “unDivided” podcast, reported that Storm players directed thumbs-down gestures at the girls’ faces, including when one danced in her XX-XY shirt during a break, and that fans booed them and yelled, “Take the trash out.” Kruse says she flagged Keaton to arena security, who confirmed she was “one of the owners” and told her to email the front office.
Keaton is the wife of co-owner Lisa Brummel and has been part of the Storm ownership group since 2024. The WNBA banned her from the team’s next five home games (the entire August home slate, with a return possible Sept. 17 against the Aces) and issued an undisclosed fine. Majority owner Ginny Gilder apologized on behalf of the team, but Keaton has not made a personal statement or apologized to the girls directly. Wilson’s mother posted that a team statement isn’t accountability and that Keaton’s outburst gave cover for other fans to treat the girls the way they did.
The arena was already split before tip-off. A few dozen people rallied outside in support of Cunningham and to promote Washington ballot initiative IL26-638, which would bar transgender students from girls sports at public schools. Inside, veteran Storm center Stefanie Dolson wore a “Trans Rights Are Human Rights” shirt during warmups, and photos on the team’s accounts pulled more than 3.7 million views on X.
The Fever won, with Caitlin Clark scoring a team-high 32 points. Neither Clark nor Cunningham spoke to reporters after the game, and when coach Stephanie White was asked about the rally, a team spokesperson read a statement: “Neither our organization nor Sophie had any knowledge of this demonstration and no contact with its organizers.”
Cunningham backed the girls online, said she’d be sending them gifts, and called Keaton’s conduct “truly embarrassing.” “Bravo to those girls for standing up for what they believe. You’ll be hearing from me soon,” she wrote.
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