South Carolina women’s basketball star Kamilla Cardoso is more noted for her power than her agility.
But during a celebration of South Carolina’s national championship win over Iowa, the 6-foot-7 center managed to jump out of the way of a question about transgender men playing women’s sports.
On Saturday, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said she supports men who consider themselves transgender females playing women’s basketball.
And so at a celebration event Wednesday at a Raising Cane’s eatery in Columbia, South Carolina, just days after her team defeated Iowa for the title, Cardoso was asked by Fox News about the comments.
“Just enjoy the moment, have fun, just stay together, just have fun,” Cardoso said.
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When Fox News sought a follow-up response via email, the outlet was told Cardoso might not be “available to respond.”
The native of Brazil had time to talk about other things as she and teammate MiLaysia Fulwiley served chicken tenders at the eatery, according to Fox News.
“I’m having so much fun here. There’s a lot of people here, I’m excited to serve them, and it’s the right thing to help,” Cardoso said.
Cardoso is heading to a league without men as she prepares for selection in Monday’s WNBA draft in New York City.
Should men stay out of women’s sports?
“I’m just trying to stay focused. I have a lot of celebrations, but I have a lot of meetings with WNBA coaches and staff,” she said.
“I’m just trying to manage the time where I can have fun and celebrate with my teammates, and also focus on the WNBA. I leave on Saturday for the draft, I go to New York, and I’m just so excited.”
But if Cardoso wishes to leave controversy behind, the issue remains.
Riley Gaines, an outspoken advocate of the principle that only women should play women’s sports, rejected Staley’s comments that men should be allowed in women’s sports, according to Outkick.
“Dawn Staley knows perfectly well that men’s basketball is a totally different sport than women’s basketball. That’s obvious by the speed of the game, the size of the ball … the sheer amount of layups compared to dunks when a player gets a fast break,” Gaines said.
“I wonder if Dawn Staley also supports 18u (the age group) playing with 12u, or heavyweights fighting the featherweights, or Olympians competing in the Paralympics.”
Gaines said Staley is backing the wrong cause.
“It always sucks seeing a well-established woman who has broken barriers for women in sports turn into a sellout in the name of ‘inclusion.’ The women’s category was created to be intentionally exclusive by design,” Gaines said.
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