Layshia Clarendon, WNBA’s first openly non-binary player, retires
Layshia Clarendon is an outspoken advocate for the LGBTQ+ community. (Getty)
Professional basketball player Layshia Clarendon has announced their retirement from the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA).
Clarendon is the first openly transgender and non-binary player in the league, though there are currently 42 out and proud LGBTQ+ players across 12 teams for the 2024 season.
They announced their retirement on Instagram, writing: “The lesson I’ve been learning this last year is that everything comes to an end. The time has come for my basketball career to end. I am deeply at peace with this choice as my mind, body, and spirit know unequivocally that it’s time to move on.
“The saying is that athletes have 2 deaths. Our careers and our true last breaths. I can tell you, I have been deeply in mourning over this loss. I’ve loved this game with every ounce of my being.”
Clarendon thanked their wife, Jessica Dolan, whom they married in 2017, as well as expressing their gratitude to the trainers, fellow athletes, coaches, and fans who have supported them in their career.
“While the grief is heavy the joy remains. I am so looking forward to being celebrated and loved on,” they added.
Speaking to ESPN, Clarendon said: “It just felt right. I’ve done a lot of healing in my life the last five years. It was just the culmination of my mind, my body and my spirit telling me that it was time to move on. I just had a deep knowing in my intuition that now is the right time, and I had a really open heart and readiness to let go.”
Clarendon has played for the Los Angeles Sparks since 2022 but previously played for the Indiana Fever, the Atlanta Dream, the Connecticut Sun, the New York Liberty, and the Minnesota Lynx.
They were named a 2017 WNBA All-Star while playing with the Atlanta Dream, which they are “very proud” of.
“I wanted to an All-Star in this league and I proved that to myself. I’m also really proud of the relationships I built with people and the integrity with which I moved in the sport,” Clarendon told ESPN.
Clarendon has advocated for the LGBTQ+ community extensively during their time as a basketball player as well as promoting racial justice initiatives. It was their idea to dedicate the 2020 season to the ‘Say Her Name’ campaign in relation to the death of Breonna Taylor and they also drew up the plans to put ‘Black Lives Matter’ on the court in the same year.
Clarendon also helped to negotiate the WNBA’s collective bargaining agreement in 2020, which included salary increases, an improvement in travel accommodations and additional support for players who have children.
