Why Cheryl Reeve wore ‘Trans Kids Belong’ shirt in latest response to Sophie Cunningham transgender athlete comments originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Minnesota Lynx and Indiana Fever had a fun battle on the court Sunday, with newly returned Napheesa Collier and the Lynx improving upon their league-best record.
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Off the court, a type of cold war emerged, whether between Sophie Cunningham supporters and Lynx fans, or between Cunningham herself and Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve.
After Cunningham took a stance against transgender women born as biological men playing women’s sports, Reeve responded by wearing a shirt with a clear message on Sunday when the Lynx hosted the Fever.
Here’s a look at Reeve’s shirt and what Cunningham said.
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Cheryl Reeve ‘Trans Kids Belong’ shirt
Reeve wore a “Trans kids belong” shirt under her jacket during Sunday’s game against Cunningham and the Fever.
After the win, Reeve told reporters she was trying to “educate” by wearing the shirt in a highly-anticipated game.
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“I think both of us understand we have platforms,” Reeve said. “We both talked about wanting to, more than anything, educate.”
Reeve was seen speaking to Cunningham before Sunday’s game, but she declined to discuss what they talked about. A day earlier, Reeve said Cunningham was perpetuating a “problematic” narrative and suggested the Fever guard’s comments had “threatened” the WNBA’s “safe spaces.”
“I don’t think we should feel like our safe spaces are being threatened,” Reeve told reporters. “That’s what I enjoy about the WNBA and I think we have to continue to safeguard that.”
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What did Sophie Cunningham say about transgender athletes?
Cunningham ignited a firestorm when she took a stance against transgender women born as biological men playing women’s sports in a feature by ESPN’s Hallie Grossman.
“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that,'” Cunningham 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.”
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Asked days later about her comments, Cunningham doubled down.
“I’m there to love, but I’m also there to love biological women,” Cunningham said. “I think that there are rights that need to be protected, and I’m going to stand true to that.”
Since then, Cunningham has spoken out in support of two 16-year-old girls who were accosted by a Seattle Storm co-owner for supporting her and has shown no signs of wavering in her stance.
