ESPN broadcast addresses ‘incredibly thoughtful’ Cheryl Reeve comments on transgender athletes

Credit: ESPN on ABCDuring Sunday’s WNBA game between the Indiana Fever and Minnesota Lynx, the ESPN on ABC broadcast addressed recent comments made by Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve regarding transgender athletes. The broadcast also showed video of Reeve meeting with Indiana’s Sophie Cunningham on the court pregame about the topic, and noted Reeve wearing a”Trans Kids Belong” shirt during the game.

>“Well, we see Cheryl Reeve wearing a shirt today in support of trans kids,” ESPN on ABC play-by-play announcer Ryan Ruocco said. “‘Trans Kids Belong’ on the shirt. This in the aftermath of Sophie Cunningham’s recent comments. We actually saw Cheryl and Sophie speaking at center court pregame. And yesterday, Cheryl Reeve spent a lot of time talking at length with the media about this topic.”

>“I would encourage anyone to go and listen to Cheryl Reeve’s comments,” color commentator Rebecca Lobo said. “Incredibly thoughtful. Easy to find online. I would just encourage anyone to go and listen.”

“I would encourage anyone to go and listen to Cheryl Reeve’s comments. Incredibly thoughtful.”

>The ESPN on ABC broadcast addresses Cheryl Reeve’s comments on transgender athletes, her “Trans Kids Belong” shirt, and meeting with Sophie Cunningham.pic.twitter.com/83YKH6X9HN

>— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) August 2, 2026

Cunningham told ESPN in a profile that was published on July 21, “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. 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.”

>Since then, anti-trans rallies haveappeared outside of arenas ahead of WNBA games in support of Cunningham’s comments.

>Reeve met with the media on Saturday and was asked about another rally that proceeded to happen on Sunday around Target Center in support of Cunningham’s comments about transgender participation in women’s sports.

>“I don’t think we should feel like our safe space is being threatened,” Reeve told the media. “That’s what I enjoy about the WNBA. And I think we have to continue to safeguard that I don’t think these demonstrators are not being peaceful, or not that I’ve seen. I haven’t seen all of it. I haven’t heard everything that’s happening, but everyone has a right to peacefully assemble, right?”

>“I think the commissioner and the league have a responsibility to ensure that any topic that could be problematic for players- what they perceive to be unsafe or threatened in any way or discriminated against- I think that’s something that’s fair for our leadership. And I’m quite sure that they have eyes on and ears on to make sure that it’s a safe space for everyone. And that’s what makes our league beautiful.

>“I come from a space of inclusion. And the narrative that I think that is problematic is to suggest that, number one, that transgender athletes are the biggest problem in women’s sports. And I think this is what’s bothersome is that there’s a faction of people in our country that are making this a massive issue.”

>“We have some issues,” Reeve added. “Number one, we need to protect trans kids. Every kid— to me, it’s a human rights issue. Every kid has a right to sports regardless of gender diversity, transgender. Every kid has the right to access.

>“Now, what gets nuanced is, you know, when you’re beyond puberty, when you’re in Olympic sport, when… we have scholarships at stake and that sort of thing. That’s where I say that common-sense people get together, and you find common ground to find a way to be inclusive. The answer isn’t no. It is not the case that we have, quote, biological men in girls’ locker rooms, the way it’s being phrased, the innuendo there that somehow transgender women are predators of some kind in the locker room. There’s a lot of narrative that is problematic that we need to address. That is simply not what’s happening. I think take on the issue. There are more and more transgenders in our country as years go by.”

>And after Sunday’s 108-100 Lynx win over the Fever, Reeve spoke with the media about her pregame conversation with Cunningham:

Cheryl Reeve on her conversation with Sophie Cunningham pre-game, and the importance of having conversations with people who have different views

>“I think it’s great, I think both of us understand that we have platforms and we both talked about more than anything wanting to… pic.twitter.com/f2eyKeMDrR

>— Andrew Dukowitz (@adukeMN) August 2, 2026

“I think it’s great,” Reeve said. “I think it’s great. I think both of us understand that we have platforms, and we both talked about wanting to, more than anything, wanting to educate. And there’s some things we have in common and maybe some things you differ on. Just like any issues. I think it’s how you handle things. And so, it was nice to be in person, for sure.”

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