The organisers of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) once begged(恳求，乞求) journalists to cover it. The joke was that all you needed to attend a press conference was a camera and a question. Now it is standing room only(只有站票，一票难求). Much of that reflects the league’s surging(急剧上升的，激增的) popularity. But it has also become an unlikely battleground in America’s culture wars(文化战争).
美国女子篮球职业联赛（WNBA）的组织者曾恳求记者报道。当时的笑话是，参加新闻发布会只需一台相机和一个问题。如今却一票难求。这在很大程度上反映了联赛人气飙升。但它也成为了美国文化战争中一个出人意料的战场。
Lately the focus has been on Sophie Cunningham, a guard with the Indiana Fever whom some have dubbed(被称为，绰号为) “MAGA Barbie(MAGA芭比，指支持特朗普的女性)”. Ms Cunningham has not publicly identified as a Republican or a Democrat. But in an interview published last month she said transgender women should be barred(被禁止，被阻止) from competing in women’s sports. Most Americans agree with her. Ahead of the midterms(在中期选举之前), though, the issue has become a fixation(执念，痴迷) of right-wing politicians and commentators.
最近，焦点集中在印第安纳狂热队的后卫苏菲·坎宁安身上，有人称她为“MAGA芭比”。坎宁安女士并未公开表明自己是共和党人还是民主党人。但在上月发表的一次采访中，她表示跨性别女性应被禁止参加女子体育比赛。大多数美国人同意她的观点。然而，在中期选举前夕，这个问题已成为右翼政客和评论员的执念。
For proof look no further than(只需看…即可) Fox News, which generally pays little attention to women’s sports. Between June 25th and August 11th it devoted(投入，专门用于) more than 200 segments(片段，节目部分) to the WNBA; at least 130 of them on trans athletes, according to Media Matters, a left-leaning watchdog. The coverage has been so relentless(不间断的，无情的) that one of the network’s biggest personalities(名人，人物), Jesse Watters, complained on air(在广播中，直播): “This is ridiculous.”
证据莫过于福克斯新闻，它通常对女子体育关注甚少。根据左倾监督机构Media Matters的数据，6月25日至8月11日期间，福克斯新闻播出了200多个关于WNBA的片段，其中至少130个涉及跨性别运动员。报道如此密集，以至于该台最大牌的主持人之一杰西·沃特斯在节目中抱怨道：“这太荒谬了。”