Sydney Colson criticized former Indiana Fever teammate Sophie Cunningham on her podcast this week, condemning Cunningham’s earlier ESPN remarks opposing transgender women in women’s sports. Colson asserted that white players who remain silent or make harmful statements lose the respect of their peers and called on Cunningham to stay silent.
Podcast Criticism and Demands for Silence
In episodes released earlier this week, Colson addressed Cunningham directly, expressing stark disapproval of her former teammate’s public positions. Colson played 30 games for the Indiana Fever in 2025 as a two-time WNBA champion. She pulled no punches when discussing players who make controversial public statements.
“For the white players in the league, when you don’t say s—, and even worse, when you say things that are harmful, talking about the trans s—, nobody respects you,” Colson said on her podcast. “Shut the f— up, shut the f— up. Nobody wants to hear your opinion. Freedom of speech, so you can say it, but just know — people are just trying to get by when they’re dealing with you.”
Colson added that players engaging in such commentary should feel a sense of shame regarding how they treat their peers. “You ought to be ashamed, y’all ought to be ashamed to act like you’re cool with people, to act like you care about sisterhood, all of these things,” she said.
According to Colson, the fallout reaches directly into team dynamics and mutual trust. “Listen, if you never speak up about a damn thing when you know it’s impacting the people you claim to love, care about, you know, fighting together as a team, sisters and you don’t speak up when things affect them … they don’t respect you, they’re just trying to make it,” she noted.
Cunningham’s Stance and Recent Public Appearances
The friction traces back to comments Cunningham made earlier this year to ESPN. During those interviews, Cunningham argued that she wanted to protect young girls in locker rooms, stating that children should not have to compete against biological men.
Although she stated she does not view herself as an activist, Cunningham refused to backtrack on her commentary. “I said what I said. I think it’s kind of common sense,” Cunningham told ESPN previously. “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.”
Cunningham addressed the backlash she received over her public profile, noting the friction between public perception and her personal intent. “I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans and I’m like, ‘I never once said that.’ I think that I am here to extend love,” she said.
The controversy followed Cunningham through the conclusion of the WNBA season. Following the Indiana Fever’s first-round playoff loss to the Las Vegas Aces, Cunningham entered unrestricted free agency after her one-year, $665,000 contract expired. She spent her last two seasons in Indiana following six seasons with the Phoenix Mercury. Woman.”
Union Response and Institutional Context
In August, the WNBA players’ association released a formal statement emphasizing its commitment to diversity and inclusion while warning against the league being weaponized as a political tool.
“The WNBPA represents 200+ individual people with different lived experiences, cultures, lifestyles and opinions,” the union’s statement read. “We embrace justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Those are the values that unite this Union and allow it to protect women’s sports while creating transformational change. Hate, abuse, and demonization of any person or group of people, including transgender people, only fuel fear, division, and harm. We will continue to have hard conversations. But we will not be used as political pawns.”
| Player | Recent Team | Contract Status / Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sydney Colson | Indiana Fever (2025) | Two-time WNBA champion; played 30 games in 2025. |
| Sophie Cunningham | Indiana Fever | Unrestricted free agent; 1-year, $665,000 contract expired after playoff exit. |
