Sophie Cunningham trans athlete comments have made their way into the media and have sparked rallies outside Indiana Fever basketball games. Cunningham and teammate Caitlin Clark did not comment on the supportive rallies, as it seems the team and league are trying to squash the matter, hoping it goes away on its own. They aren’t blowing out birthday candles, though; they are fanning a potential forest fire.
This is a debate that has been going on for some time now; it will only get louder, and the WNBA can’t make it quieter. They can advise their players, coaches, and personnel not to comment on the matter, but it’s too late for that now. Cunningham needs to address the issue, and based on comments she’s already made, she needs to get some coaching on what to say before she says it.
There’s nothing wrong with exercising free speech, but there’s nothing wrong with “cancelling” people for exercising their free speech, since that is also an exercise in the same freedom. The average person can spout off about anything they want, in any way they want, but public figures don’t have that same luxury. At least, not if they want to live a repercussion-free life. The topic of trans people in sports is polarizing, and if it’s going to be mentioned by a public figure, they better not go off the cuff.
Sophie Cunningham Trans Quotes
While speaking to ESPN on the matter, Cunningham, who has been referred to as “MAGA Barbie” said, “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 a sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”
The first issue with the statement is the suggestion that Cunningham wants to protect young girls in a locker room. This suggests that girls in a locker room are in danger if they are exposed to a trans female, who was born male. Does she also think that women in a locker room are in danger around a man who was born male? In other words, she’s opposed to Geno Auriemma coaching the UConn women’s basketball team because a man in a locker room poses danger.
Either that, or Cunningham’s suggesting that men are not dangerous until they decide to be women, and then some sort of Jekyll and Hyde thing happens, where they become dangerous monsters. Whether she thinks men are bad news for women or trans people are bad news for women, she’s definitely suggesting that not all people deserve love. Some deserve to be feared.
Provide A Solution
The bigger issue in her comments was that Cunningham did not provide a solution. She’s welcome to complain about everything she dislikes, but complaining doesn’t fix a leaky ceiling. Offer an answer or compromise. It is true that men and women are born biologically different and that they stay different regardless of whether they switch genders or not. Whether it’s a man taking estrogen or a woman taking testosterone, there will always be something inherently physical in them that never changes from birth.
Because of this, it is unfair competitively to have people play sports within a gender they were not born as. This is why men and women don’t play on the same basketball team. When women first wanted to participate in hoops, they were shunned just like trans people are today. They were told they would not be allowed to play because they’d get hurt playing with the boys. So what happened?
Schools and now professionals created separate leagues and teams for women, so that even though they can’t compete against the men, they can compete against each other. Sport is an amazing thing, and anyone who wants to participate, regardless of gender or orientation, should compete in sports. There just needs to be a level playing field. The solution: Trans teams and leagues. No matter which way a person is transitioning, if they want to play sports, they can do it on a trans team, made up of their peers.
The problem is that Cunningham has probably never had to think long and hard about anything she’s ever said, and she’s always been appreciated, no matter what it is she was saying. This was a hard lesson learned, but hopefully she did learn from it. One: Before she says anything about a sensitive topic going forward, she should think deeply about it, practice it, write it down, and have someone double-check it for her before she says it out loud.
Two: Before she complains about anything ever again, she should have a solution ready to go. Nobody likes a straight complainer. The best solution, especially for someone who always has a camera on them and has no interest in running for office to make the world a better place, is to keep opinions to themselves.
