In June, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld state laws barring transgender girls and women from school sports teams with a 6-3 majority. All nine justices agreed that state bans do not violate federal anti-discrimination laws governing education. But even before the ruling, inclusion or exclusion of trans athletes in women’s sports has been a raging debate. Sophie Cunningham’s recent stance was also met with some controversy, but Stephen A. Smith is backing the WNBA star.

“I stand with Sophie Cunningham,” he said on the Stephen A. Smith show. “I stand with Riley Gaines. I stand with them both. I have two daughters. They don’t participate in sports, but if they did, that would be my position.”

Smith would then cite Sophie Cunningham’s interview with the media, in which she stated that she intends to protect children and that little girls who are also involved in that category. She felt women shouldn’t need to compete with biological males. In fact, the Fever star even stated that her statements shouldn’t be construed as hate speech. And the veteran ESPN analyst is applauding her statement.

“I can’t applaud her enough. This notion that you’re hating on the trans community because you are not a proponent of them participating in female sports is utterly ridiculous. Sophie Cunningham said every word right on the money. There’s no hate involved. There’s only love we’re talking about, but what happened to loving girls who are born biologically as girls? What about their rights? What about fairness associated with them?”

Stephen A. Smith also brought forward the Lia Thomas case, which again deals with complex debates about transgender athletes having biological differences. In the 2018–2019 season, competing on the University of Pennsylvania men’s team, Lia Thomas ranked 554th in the 200-yard freestyle, 65th in the 500-yard freestyle, and 32nd in the 1,650-yard freestyle.

After undergoing hormone replacement therapy (HRT), she ranked 1st in the 500-yard freestyle, 5th in the 200-yard freestyle, and 10th in the 100-yard freestyle nationally. That’s why Stephen A. Smith is backing Sophie Cunningham’s stance. The ESPN veteran broadcaster even urged that trans athletes should have a league of their own in the sport they want to compete in.

But there is a difference of opinion in the WNBA. Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve expressed her support for the transgender community. While speaking to the media, she said, “exclusion is never the answer, separate isn’t equal, and trans lives matter.”

Sharing this message was Sophie Cunningham’s former teammate Brianna Turner.

Turner on X shared a video of Reeve and, in multiple tweets, explained her stance on inclusion.

“I’ve been an advocate for the trans community since I entered the WNBA. So many takes about them are based on fear mongering and bigotry. A tiny minority of the population identifies as trans, yet they are always a trending topic, unfortunately. I’m in my 8th season as a WNBA player. To date, there’s been one out trans player in the league. They caused zero problems.”

The debate about trans athletes in women’s sports creates a divide. Even in the WNBA, the opinion remains different, as Sophie Cunningham is not in favor of inclusion. But Reeve and Turner are against the exclusion policy.