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Credit: Jordan Godfree-Imagn Images, The Providence Journal
The Indiana Fever’s five-game winning streak came to an end on Sunday in a 108-100 loss to the Minnesota Lynx. A lot of the storylines around the game centered on Indiana Fever reserve guard Sophie Cunningham, who scored just three points in the loss, and her stance that transgender girls should not compete against other girls in sports.
Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve addressed the hot-button topic on Saturday.
“I come from a space of inclusion,” she said. 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.”
During Sunday’s game, the ESPN broadcast praised Reeve for her stance.
“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,” Ryan Ruocco said while calling the game. “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 added.
“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,” Rebecca Lobo, who called the game alongside him, added.
ESPN isn’t alone in addressing the controversy either. Columnist Howard Bryant wrote for The Guardian that Cunningham has taken on “the role as the right’s anti-Black, anti-transgender culture war ambassador, the role originally intended for Caitlin Clark.”
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy got wind of Bryant’s column and had some questions.
“How did Sophie saying trans girls shouldn’t compete in girls sports turn into Sophie hates black people? I’m very confused how those two things are related,” he posted on X.
If Portnoy had simply read the column, he’d have had his question answered.
“With mainstream money comes the mainstream language – and its accompanying racism and misogyny,” he wrote. “Her whiteness sells. Her whiteness and straightness in a time of nationwide anti-blackness and homophobia sell even more. Cunningham doesn’t fight it. She bathes in it.”
The post Dave Portnoy reacts to claim that Sophie Cunningham ‘hates black people’ appeared first on The Comeback: Today’s Top Sports Stories & Reactions.
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