Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham sparked a controversy when she offered her views on transgender athletes participating in women’s sports in a profile published by ESPN on July 21.
“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that,'” she told the Worldwide Leader. “I think that I am here to extend love. But I also think with that love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”
The comments became a sparkplug for political debate and social commentary, with people from all corners of sports and social media weighing in, and even the White House releasing a statement on the matter.
Cunningham’s teammate, Caitlin Clark, even faced heavy criticism from many conservative pundits for staying neutral on the matter. On Friday, in the aftermath of the media storm, the WNBPA released its first official statement on the subject.
“We embrace justice equity, diversity, and inclusion,” the statement read, via ESPN. “Those are the values that unite this Union and allow it to protect women’s sports while creating transformational change. Hate, abuse, and demonization of any person or group of people, including transgender people, only fuel fear, division, and harm. We will continue to have hard conversations. But we will not be used as political pawns.”
Multiple coaches, including Cunningham’s own Stephanie White, have come out in favor of inclusivity in the wake of Cunningham’s comments. On Thursday, Golden State Valkyries All-Star Gabby Williams went as far as to say she’d welcome a transgender player on her team.
“There’s a lot of discourse around trans athletes and what they can compete in,” Williams said. I would welcome a trans athlete on my team or against my team any time. I don’t think it’s a problem in the world. It’s just another way to kind of attack trans people.
“Support the players. Support the fans,” the WNBPA statement went on. “At games, notify security if you witness hateful, violent, or abusive behavior. Online, report abusive posts and drown out the bots and bad actors. At home, tell your elected officials to strengthen Title IX.”
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.