Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham has sparked a lot of conversation throughout the WNBA about whether or not transgender women belong in women’s sports. Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve was one of the voices who weighed in on the matter, with her thoughtful words even earning praise from ESPN. But conservative commentator Megyn Kelly was not happy about ESPN’s praise.
During ESPN’s broadcast of Sunday’s game between the Minnesota Lynx and Cunningham’s Indiana Fever, ESPN’s Rebecca Lobo praised Reeve for her “incredibly thoughtful” comments on the complex issue. However, in a post on X, Kelly spoke out against the network for praising Reeve’s comments.
Cunningham and Reeve’s Comments
During a recent interview for an ESPN profile, Cunningham was asked a question about her political beliefs and the “MAGA Barbie” nickname that has followed her in recent months. In her response, the Fever star spoke out against trans athletes.
“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that,’” she told ESPN. “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.”
A few days later, Cunningham doubled down on her comments.
“I said what I said. I think it’s kind of common sense,” Cunningham said earlier this week. “And I think I’ll always believe in that. I think it’s really important to protect children, and that’s little girls who are also involved in that category. I stand on what I said.”
Reeve was asked to weigh in on Cunningham’s words ahead of Sunday’s game between the Indiana Fever and the Minnesota Lynx, and she gave a very thorough response.
“I come from a space of inclusion. And the narrative that I think that is problematic is to suggest that, uh, number one, that transgender athletes are the biggest problem in women’s sports. And I think this is what’s bothersome, is that there’s a faction of people in our country that are making this a massive issue,” Reeve said.
Reeve went on to say that it’s important to “protect trans kids”
“Number one, we need to protect trans kids. Every kid— to me, it’s a human rights issue. Every kid has a right to sports regardless of gender diverse, transgender. Every kid has the right to access,” she said.
“Now, what gets nuanced is, you know, when you’re beyond puberty, when you’re in Olympic sport, when you’re — we have scholarships at stake and that sort of thing. That’s where I say that common sense people get together, and you find common ground to find a way to be inclusive,” Reeve continued.
“The answer isn’t no. It is not the case that we have, quote, biological men in girls’ locker rooms, the way it’s being phrased, the innuendo there that somehow transgender women are predators of some kind in the locker room. There’s a lot of narrative that is problematic that we need to address…
“The issue isn’t, isn’t as big as the issues that we have in women’s sports. You know, whether it’s, you know, cisgender men that have held us down for years in spaces like being able to have access to facilities and uniforms and locker rooms, all the things that these young girls that are sitting at games with anti-trans signs, do they understand actually what the real problems are and what they’re— and how they’re being marginalized? We’re still not in a space where we have equality. We don’t even have the Equal Rights Amendment in all 50 states, right? So there’s real issues.”
ESPN Praises Reeve, Sparking Outrage From Kelly
During its broadcast of Sunday’s game, ESPN praised Reeve for her “incredibly thoughtful” comments on the situation.
“We see Cheryl Reeve wearing a shirt today in support of trans kids – ‘trans kids belong’ on the shirt. This in the aftermath of Sophie Cunningham’s recent comments,” ESPN’s Ryan Ruocco said during the broadcast. “We actually saw Cheryl and Sophie speaking at center court pregame.
“Yesterday, Cheryl Reeves spent a lot of time at length with the media about this topic,” he continued.
“I would encourage anyone to go and listen to Cheryl Reeves’ comments. Incredibly thoughtful. Easy to find online and I would just encourage anyone to go and listen,” ESPN’s Rebecca Lobo added.
Kelly clearly was not happy about these comments from ESPN, and she did not hold back in a post on X.
“ESPN is worse than any left-wing news media outlet,” she wrote, responding to Lobo’s praise for Reeve.
Kelly also spoke out against Caitlin Clark, calling her a “coward” for declining to offer a stance on transgender women in sports.
About Dave Kelsey
Contributing author to The Comeback.