Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve shared the details of her pregame chat with Indiana Fever role player Sophie Cunningham.
The Lynx stayed atop the WNBA standings with a 108-100 winover the Fever on Friday night, but the game had a lot of off-court attention surrounding it due to Cunningham sparking the women’s sports debate.
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Lynx coach Reeve wore a ‘Trans Kids Belong’ t-shirt to the game in direct response to Cunningham’s comments, having a chat with the polarising Fever star before the game.
Cheryl Reeve opens up on her chat with Sophie Cunningham
While Reeve made her support for trans women clear, she also admitted she had an honest conversation with Cunningham, which basically ended with both agreeing to disagree on the current issue at hand.
“It was great. I think both of us understand that we have platforms. We both talked about wanting to relay things and educate. There were some things about us in common, and some were different, just like any issue. I think it’s how you handle things.”
Both coach and Cunningham seem dug into their political beliefs, but they’re choosing to remain professional as opponents who face each other a few times a season.
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Cunningham’s teammates have dismissed questions over the matter at every turn, insisting they’re focused on basketball, so at least Reeve attempted at educating Sophie into examining her beliefs with a conversation.
Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images
Rather than slinging hate on Reeve or Cunningham, more contentious topics like this can be resolved with a conversation.
Reeve and Cunningham are no closer to agreeing on a middle ground, but they have a better understanding of why the other views this topic in the way that they do.
Regardless of where either stands in the debate with respect to any specific person’s views on the matter, their conversation shows that only constant dialogue can lead to change and understanding.
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