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Ex-WNBA player Sydney Colson tells White colleagues to 'shut the f--- up,' smears Fever fans

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Cite

Avila, A. (2026, October 9). Ex-WNBA player Sydney Colson tells White colleagues to 'shut the f--- up,' smears Fever fans. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/ex-wnba-player-sydney-colson-tells-white-colleagues-shut-f-smears-fever-fans

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Fox News · collected 2026-10-09 · by Alejandro Avila

Quick Summary

Sydney Colson, a former player for the Indiana Fever in the WNBA, used her podcast "Unsupervised with Syd & TP" to criticize fellow players and Fever fans. She told White teammates to "shut the f--- up" if they do not support protecting women’s sports from biological males competing as females. Colson also accused White fans of being racist, sexist, and homophobic while ignoring evidence that contradicts her claims about fan behavior at games.
Written by AI on 2026-10-09, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Sydney Colson, a former WNBA player who played for the Indiana Fever, criticized white players on her podcast "Unsupervised with Syd & TP" in late 2023. She urged white colleagues to "shut the f--- up" if they remain silent or express harmful views regarding transgender athletes competing in women's sports. Colson specifically targeted former teammate Sophie Cunningham, who has spoken out on these issues, suggesting that such silence and negativity from players undermines solidarity within the league. The comments reflect broader tensions within the WNBA about inclusivity and player responsibilities toward team cohesion amid debates over biological sex classifications in competitive sports.

Written for “Sydney Colson Controversy” on 2026-11-03, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Sydney Colson Controversy
Sports · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 10% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
Hedges 2 of 20 claims Outlet record 66/100
Fox News
Hedges 2 of 33 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles describe different incidents involving separate individuals (Sophie Cunningham and Sydney Colson) responding to distinct situations.”
Fox News
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 6 of 46 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles describe different incidents involving Sophie Cunningham; one discusses a columnist's opinion about her polarizing impact on the team, while the other describes Sydney Colson's offensive comments directed at White players and colleagues.”
The Guardian
Hedges 3 of 31 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A discusses the general pushback from WNBA players against the GM's defense of fans' behavior, while Article B focuses on a specific tirade by Sydney Colson directed at White colleagues and Fever fans.”
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 3 of 56 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A discusses the Indiana Fever team's season and its role in the WNBA, while Article B focuses on a specific incident involving Sydney Colson making offensive comments.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
31
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
10%
3 of 31 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
69/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
2
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-09 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6337 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Alejandro Avila
65 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Dakota Ridge said they will make accommodations for girls who are uncomfortable in the locker room.
🔮 "I heard that meetings were held weeks ago to discuss a plan for this scenario, which is unfolding exactly the way it was predicted."
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🔮 He will now miss Buffalo's upcoming game against the Baltimore Ravens simply because he could not act like an adult on the field.
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Also by Alejandro Avila
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 65 articles by Alejandro Avila →

Topics

Black Indiana Fever Indianapolis WNBA White Fever

Subjects

Colson PERSON · 11× Cunningham PERSON · 5× Indianapolis GPE · 3× WNBA ORG · 3× White PERSON · 3× White Fever ORG · 2× Black NORP · 1× Indiana Fever ORG · 1× Sophie Cunningham PERSON · 1× Sydney Colson PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Targeting Cunningham and other White players who express support for protecting women's sports, Colson unloaded: "Let me just tell you now, for real, for real: for the White players in the league, when you don’t say s—, and even worse, when you say things that are harmful, talking about the trans s---, nobody respects you.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-09
🔮 He would be fired before reaching his car.

Claims (31 extracted, 3 hedged)

The former WNBA bench player, who charges fans sitting in the baseline seats, sent a direct message to former teammate Sophie Cunningham and White colleagues across the league, telling them to: "Shut the f--- up." asserted
who → charge → f---
The former Indiana Fever player jumped on her podcast, "Unsupervised with Syd & TP," to unleash a tirade aimed squarely at two targets: Cunningham and White Fever fans. asserted
player → jump → targets
Targeting Cunningham and other White players who express support for protecting women's sports, Colson unloaded: "Let me just tell you now, for real, for real: for the White players in the league, when you don’t say s—, and even worse, when you say things that are harmful, talking about the trans s---, nobody respects you. asserted
nobody → target → you
Nobody wants to hear your opinion." asserted
Nobody → want → opinion
Colson explicitly targeted Cunningham's stance on biological men competing in women's sports, attacking players who claim to value team solidarity while holding those views: uncertain
who → target → views
"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, you know, ‘We’re fighting together as a team, sister,’ blah, blah, blah, and you don’t speak up when things affect them, they don’t respect you. uncertain
they → listen → you
They’re just trying to make it." asserted
They → try → it
She added: "And you ought to be ashamed. asserted
you → add → ?
Y’all ought to be ashamed to act like you’re cool with people, to act like you care about sisterhood, all of these things." asserted
you → act → things
Colson's hostility toward her peers matches the disdain she directs at White Fever fans in Indianapolis. asserted
she → match → Indianapolis
The 37-year-old took a giant swipe at the Gainbridge Fieldhouse crowd, claiming: "This environment is not discouraging people from showing up and being hateful, racist, homophobic, sexist, or any of those things." asserted
environment → take → things
Colson demanded everyone "keep this in reality," accusing fans of ignoring players' complaints. asserted
everyone → demand → complaints
"People are being told that things are not based in reality, even though players are documented and on record saying what they have experienced," Colson claimed. asserted
Colson → tell → what
She went so far as to call the arena atmosphere "a slap in the face to Black players who are in the organization right now, who have been in it, or who are going to possibly have to be in it. uncertain
who → go → it
But when arena security reviewed video of a fan pointing at A'ja Wilson, it found no code of conduct violation. asserted
it → review → violation
The fan pointed and yelled, "It's on you!" after a foul call. asserted
It → point → call
Colson ignored the official security report anyway, treating White fans in Indianapolis as guilty until proven innocent: "I know that it is not every Fever fan, but it is enough, and it is enough for me to need to tell you that there is a problem that you need to address." asserted
you → ignore → that
The sports media machine, from outlets like The Athletic to commentators like Colson, constantly weaponizes race to attack Indiana fans. asserted
machine → weaponize → fans
Since Caitlin Clark helped drive the WNBA's popularity, left-wing sports writers have bristled at traditional fans filling arenas. asserted
fans → help → arenas
They look for reasons to villainize sold-out crowds in Indianapolis. asserted
They → look → Indianapolis
That same animus drives Colson's treatment of Cunningham on social media. asserted
animus → drive → media
When Chicago's DiJonai Carrington bloodied Cunningham with a flagrant foul, Colson mocked her former teammate on Threads: "Love a trans foul." asserted
Colson → bloody → foul
Cheering for harm against a former teammate over a basic political disagreement is total garbage. asserted
Cheering → cheer → disagreement
Imagine a male commentator charging into the baseline seats, getting physically held back by production staff, then hopping on a podcast to tell his colleagues to "shut the f--- up." asserted
commentator → imagine → f---
He would be fired before reaching his car. asserted
He → fire → car
The sports media elite actively protects Colson after every baseline meltdown. asserted
elite → protect → meltdown
Media figures like Colson alienate the spectators funding their league's growth. asserted
figures → alienate → growth
Turning paying ticket buyers into political punching bags and telling colleagues to shut up is terrible business and toxic for basketball. asserted
Turning → turn → basketball
The WNBA has a clear choice. asserted
WNBA → have → choice
League brass can keep coddling bitter media figures, or stand up for the fans paying for tickets. asserted
brass → keep → tickets
Drop the double standard and hold Sydney Colson accountable once and for all. asserted
Colson → drop → all
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