The debate around transgender athlete eligibility in the WNBA has continued to bring strong reactions from both inside and outside the league. Several current and former NBA players have voiced support for Sophie Cunningham’s position that transgender athletes should not be allowed to compete in the WNBA.
Former NBA champion Stephen Jackson is among those who has also shared his opinion on the ongoing discussion. Now, unrestricted free agent Sydney Colson has fired back at Jackson over a comment he left under one of her Instagram posts.
Sydney Colson’s Recent Reaction to Stephen Jackson’s Comment
Colson, who is currently recovering from an ACL injury she picked up a few weeks ago, has plenty of time to share her thoughts on the issues surrounding the league.
In a recent episode of the “Unsupervised with Syd & TP” podcast, the former Indiana Fever guard addressed Jackson after seeing his comment on one of her Instagram posts.
“Steven Jackson, I don’t know what the issue is with him, but so yeah, we want all the smoke with you. I don’t know why it is that you felt the need to come into my comment section when you don’t follow me to incite transphobia, but it’s super scary.”
“And I went on your page to see your dumb takes and, like, just like you’re trying to figure out your like overall logic. And it’s super embarrassing, which is why I put you on my story, calling you a loser,” Colson said during the podcast.
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Colson had previously used her Instagram account to share her views on the ongoing conversation about eligibility rules for transgender athletes in the WNBA. She expressed support for allowing transgender athletes to compete.
However, Jackson appeared in the comments with a different view. He argued that transgender athletes should have their own league rather than competing in women’s professional sports.
“Let the gay women that wanna play with trans start their own league. Leave the WNBA alone. Women’s National Basketball Association. The world has lost common sense,” Jackson commented.
During the podcast, Colson also brought up Jackson’s well-known friendship with George Floyd. Jackson had been vocal following Floyd’s death in 2020 and participated in protests against racial injustice and police violence.
Colson used that history while questioning Jackson’s position. This made the exchange more personal than a simple disagreement over sports policy.
“It’s wild to me for somebody like you, who was protesting their friend dying at the hand of state violence, and those same people that perpetrate state violence are the same ones pushing this agenda and pushing this fear-mongering of transphobia,” Colson added.
Jackson has had a long NBA career that dates back to the 2000–01 season. He made his NBA debut with the New Jersey Nets in 2000 and went on to play for several teams, including the San Antonio Spurs, Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers, Golden State Warriors, Charlotte Bobcats, and the Milwaukee Bucks.
He won his only NBA championship in 2003 with the Spurs and later finished his playing career with the Los Angeles Clippers during the 2013–14 season. Jackson officially announced his retirement in July 2015.
Reaction to the exchange has been mixed. A good chunk of people in the comments seemed to back Colson’s response and agreed with where she was coming from on the larger issue.
But plenty of others weren’t thrilled with how she handled it. For many, specifically, calling a former champion a “loser” felt like language that went a bit too far, no matter which side of the debate they were on.
