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Transgender women's participation in women's sports has long been a contentious issue, and Orlando Magic star Jonathan Isaac and WNBA veteran Dawn Staley recently addressed it.
South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley was asked on her stand if transgender women have a place in women's sports.
"If you consider yourself a woman and you want to play sports or vice versa, you should be able to play," Staley answered.
A video of the question and answer was circulated on social media. Jonathan Isaac responded to the video on Twitter.
"Actually would have been totally ok with her declining to answer at that moment. Yes this is an important topic and issue but this will most definitely derail the focus of her team and organization to some degree and magnified by a billion if her answer was no," Issac tweeted.
"You can tell she has the weight of the world on her shoulders as she’s processing. It’s unfortunate but here we are. Tough spot to be in for anyone. Regardless of beliefs."
For the past few weeks, women's basketball has been in the spotlight, with the popularity of Caitlin Clark, Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese, JuJu Watson and Kamila Cardoso creating noise at the NCAA tournament.
Fans react to Dawn Staley and Jonathan Isaac's comments on transgender athletes
In the wake of Dawn Staley's comments, many took to Twitter and shared their opinions on them.
One fan said Dawn Staley was forced to say the wrong answer to avoid getting fired.
"She was forced to provide the wrong answer, because she was afraid of being fired," said @365Solved.
On Jonathan Isaac's side, @court_jorg wants to tell the Magic player that Staley was just playing safe on her answer.
"No it’s not. It’s important that women leaders hold other accountable. She doesn’t believe what she said. Just say what you believe," @court_jorg posts.
On the other side, some questioned the journalist's questioning and timing since the main topic should be about the NCAA Final Four.
"You are the problem, Dan. Congrats," said @samtrevicow
As many transgender athletes fight for their rights throughout the world, it will be interesting to see how this topic progresses for the rest of the decade.
