Over the past several weeks, the debate regarding trans women competing in women’s sports has ignited across the country after Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham started the conversation by speaking out against trans athletes. Now, longtime sports personality Joy Taylor is weighing in.
Taylor, who now hosts multiple podcasts following her departure from Fox Sports, had a pretty clever spin on the debate, claiming that it proves men now “finally” care about the safety of women.
Trans Sports Debate
Last month, Cunningham made headlines across the country and the world when she was quoted as speaking out against transgender athletes in an ESPN article.
In an interview for the ESPN profile, Cunningham was asked about her political beliefs, including the “MAGA Barbie” nickname that she has been given recently. In response, the Indiana Fever guard shared her opinion on transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.
“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that,’” she 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.”
While the comments were from an interview done back in February, Cunningham doubled down on that stance, describing her opinion as “common sense.”
“I said what I said. I think it’s kind of common sense,” Cunningham said last month. “And I think I’ll always believe in that. I think it’s really important to protect children, and that’s little girls who are also involved in that category. I stand on what I said.”
Since then, the debate has engulfed the country, drawing protests from both sides outside WNBA arenas, sparked comments from politicians throughout the nation, and even led two NBA players to mock the WNBA’s gender policy by declaring themselves eligible for the WNBA Draft.
‘I think I figured it out’
In a post on Instagram this week, Taylor offered a pretty unique spin on the trans sports debate.
“If you are a man who’s concerned about trans women in the WNBA, you can keep scrolling. This isn’t for you,” Taylor said in a post on Instagram. “This is strictly for the women.”
“You can keep going,” she said again, making it clear that what she was about to say was not directed toward men.
Taylor went on to jokingly explain that one silver lining to men becoming so vocal about the trans sports debate is that it suggests that men now care about women’s safety after “thousands of years,” she claims.
“Ladies, I think I figured it out,” she said. “I think I got it. The men are so concerned – the straight, cisgender men – are so concerned about predators. They finally care about our safety! Can you believe it? It’s taken thousands of years, but they finally get it! We want to be safe from predatory men.
“I, for one, am grateful that we got here. I mean, we’ve been asking them to stop assaulting and molesting and raping and stalking and murdering us. They get it! They don’t want us to be taken advantage of; they don’t want us to be harmed. We are looking at this the wrong way. I finally understand it now. We shouldn’t be mad at them. They are now concerned about women’s safety. Imagine the results!”
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