As it turns out, people can only speak freely when they say what Sydney Colson wants them to say.
On the most recent episode of Unsupervised with Syd and TP, the podcast Colson co-hosts with fellow former WNBA player Theresa Plaisance, Colson invited white players to “shut the f*ck up” when it comes to commenting on transgender issues.
“Listen, if you never speak up about a damn thing when you know it’s impacting the people you claim to love and care about,” Colson said, “you ought to be ashamed to act like you’re cool with people, to act like you care about sisterhood, all of these things.”
“For the white players in the league, when you don’t say sh*t, and even worse, when you say things that are harmful, talking about the trans sh*t, nobody respects you,” Colson said. “Shut the f*ck up. Shut the f*ck up. Nobody wants to hear your opinion. Freedom of speech, so you can say it, but just know people are trying to get by when they’re dealing with you.”
While Colson did not mention Fever guard Sophie Cunningham by name, Cunningham is the only WNBA player, white or otherwise, who has spoken out against allowing men to compete against women.
Interestingly, Cunningham is also a former teammate of Colson’s from when the pair played together on the Fever in 2025—adding more credibility to the belief that Colson is referencing Cunningham when she criticizes those who merely “act” as if they care about the sisterhood.
In a July ESPN interview, Cunningham spoke boldly about the need to exclude men from women’s sports, calling it just “common sense.”
“I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men,” Cunningham said.
The comments sparked widespread backlash and led to several protests from opposing fans at Fever games.