RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesESPN featured commentator and sports analyst Stephen A. Smith stepped into the WNBA’s debate surrounding the inclusion of transgender athletes in women’s sports Tuesday.
Smith launched an incensed rant against Cheryl Reeve , the head coach of the Minnesota Lynx. Reeve recently wore a shirt that read “Trans Kids Belong” while coaching a WNBA game.
“We gotta stop this. We gotta stop acting like somebody that’s speaking up on behalf of girls, like the Sophie Cunninghams , like the Riley Gaineses , are scourges of the earth. You are Cheryl Reeve, the head coach of the Minnesota Lynx. That is an irresponsible thing to do,” Smith said.
He continued:
You are a coach for a female basketball team. Do you not think that the females are being screwed over if they have to compete against an individual born as a male? What are you talking about? What are you talking about? Trying to tell me that a college player, a man, at a college program anywhere in the country, or an NBA player, should transition to being a woman and be allowed to compete in the WNBA? On a collegiate level to a women’s college program, whether it’s UConn, South Carolina, Iowa, Tennessee, or wherever else you want to come up with. What the hell are you talking about? It’s not true. It’s false … If you’re a male transition into female, you shouldn’t be playing against the women. Nobody said you can’t transition from male to female. The issue here is competing against the women.
Smith also insisted Reeve wore her shirt without considering “how it effects the collective brand of the WNBA and how they may be frowned upon by half of America” when the league “need[s] all the support that you can get in building your product.”
He also accused Reeve of wearing the shirt “knowing that you’re going up against the Indiana Fever with Caitlin Clark , who obviously is the number one draw in the WNBA, which means cameras are rolling.”
I'm not backing down from this one.
You can support people's rights AND believe biological men shouldn't compete in women's sports. Those two things are not mutually exclusive.
My issue isn't hate. It's protecting women, protecting girls, and asking why a WNBA coach chose to…
— Stephen A Smith (@stephenasmith) August 4, 2026
Smith also shared the video on X , where he wrote, “I’m not backing down from this one. You can support people’s rights AND believe biological men shouldn’t compete in women’s sports. Those two things are not mutually exclusive.”
He added, “My issue isn’t hate. It’s protecting women, protecting girls, and asking why a WNBA coach chose to inject herself into a controversy that could hurt the very league she’s supposed to represent.”
Last month ESPN published an interview with Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, who told the outlet, “I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”
The comments set off a furor that prompted Cunningham to repeatedly state she still stands by those comments, which she later said she made to the outlet this February. Reeve, who has been outspoken about protecting transgender children before, wore her t-shirt while the Lynx played Cunningham and the rest of the Fever. Clark is on the same team as Cunningham.
Watch the above via Stephen A. Smith Sports.
The post ‘What the Hell Are You Talking About!?’ Stephen A. Smith Explodes on WNBA Coach for Backing Trans Athletes first appeared on Mediaite .
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