Liberty Announce Support for Layshia Clarendon After Guard Has Top Surgery

The New York Liberty have offered their support for Layshia Clarendon after the veteran guard announced on Friday they had top surgery.

Clarendon tweeted about the procedure:

The Liberty said in a statement they were "in full support of Layshia Clarendon and their choice to live authentically":

The WNBPA also showed their support for the 29-year-old in a statement, saying Clarendon's story is one "that will empower, and reminds us that we will not be restrained by the many assumptions and stereotypes that seek to define us as girls and women."

In an August 2015 article for The Players' Tribune, Clarendon wrote they identified as "black, gay, female, non-cisgender and Christian."

Last month, Clarendon came out publicly as transgender in a post on Instagram: 

"There is indeed no one way to be Trans. Over 5 years ago I wrote in a [The Players' Tribune] article that I identified as non-cis gender. ⁣

"When I wrote those words I knew my gender did not align with the sex I was assigned at birth, but I didn't know exactly where I fit or how to describe the feelings I was having. I just knew what I was not...cis lol. And I knew I wasn't a trans guy. The images of Trans folx I saw and the mainstream narrative we still largely see (but is changing!) exists in the binary of male or female.⁣"

Clarendon is entering their second season with the Liberty. The California alum began their WNBA career with the Indiana Fever in 2013 and has also played for the Atlanta Dream (2016-18) and Connecticut Sun (2018-19).

They were named to the WNBA All-Star team in 2017 and won a gold medal with Team USA at the 2018 FIBA World Cup.