Sophie Cunningham is garnering a lot of attention for her controversial words about transgender athletes. She presented her opinion that transgender women should not be a part of women’s and girls sports.
She said that her comments did not come from a place of hate but a desire to protect the female athletes. She presented her view as “common sense.”
There has been a lot of discourse around her comments. Many WNBA entities, analysts and fans have taken sides on the matter. Some have refuted what Cunningham said, while some are in total agreement. One of the people who backed Cunningham’s words was ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith.
“I think there’s space for everyone. I can’t applaud her enough. This notion that you’re hating on the trans community because you are not a proponent of them participating in female sports is utterly ridiculous. Sophie CuNNingham said every word right on the money. There’s no hate involved. There’s only love we’re talking about. But what happened to loving girls who are born biologically as girls? What about their rights? What about fairness associated to them?” Smith said.
“If we’re going to act like transitioning from male to female doesn’t involve an advantage for that trans athlete, I have nothing to say to you. You’re not exercising common sense. What if a male decided to transition a female? What if an NBA player decided to transition to playing in the WNBA? How elite would they be? How great would they be? We got to put stuff in its proper perspective and call it like it is,” he said (22:28).
He said that he is a supporter of the LGBTQ+ community. He shared that people’s civil rights are of utmost importance to him. However, he also believes that you can’t look out for a transgender athlete at the expense of biological women.
Brianna Turner and Cheryl Reeve react to Sophie Cunningham’s comments
After Cunningham stood her ground about the comments about banning transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports, former teammate Brianna Turner and Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve reacted.
Reeve took a stance different from Cunningham as she supported transgender inclusivity in women’s sports. Turner, a Las Vegas Aces veteran, directly pushed back Cunningham’s stance.
“Focusing on who should be allowed to call themselves a woman distracts from the structural inequities that actually limit women’s opportunities,” Turner said.
She advocated for the trans community and believed that there should be equal opportunities.
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