Sydney Carter, an accomplished basketball player turned coach for Texas A&M’s Division 1 women’s team, caught the internet’s attention earlier this month when a photo of her game-day outfit went viral. In the images Carter wears bubblegum-pink leather pants from Fashion Nova, a white turtleneck, and heels. It was honestly a vibe.
“‘They want that heat I’m the only provider.’-Nicki Minaj Pink 💓 for Game 22,” she captioned her Instagram post of the look.
Did commenters notice the fact that she was also rocking a breast cancer ribbon? That her pink pants matched the shoes of her players? That she stayed masked up the whole time? No, they decided to weigh in on whether or not her outfit was appropriate. There was a fair amount of criticism, but also support from people who wanted to, basically, just let the woman live.
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Thankfully, Carter is taking it all in stride and addressed the mini controversy on Instagram and in an interview. “I literally post every [game day] outfit,” she reminded Yahoo! Life, adding, “I just think that people are uncomfortable with a Black woman being in a power position.” She said that for some, “When you see a Black woman who is actually confident and embracing herself, I think that that’s very intimidating.”
She also noted the ridiculous catch-22 of being a woman in sports: “You hear so many times that people don’t want to watch women play basketball, because there’s too many that look manly, or they play like a guy or don’t play enough like guys…. Women can never satisfy anybody in any aspect of life.”
What it comes down to, Carter says, is self-expression. “I’m not gonna…turn my light off because somebody else is offended or intimidated by the fact that I embrace myself,” she said. “I wasn’t trying to kick down any barriers. At the end of the day, I wasn’t trying to set a trend. I just wanted to be myself.”
She posted a similar sentiment to Instagram
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Thankfully, her school supported her, with the team’s Instagram posting, “Let them talk. We got your back 👑.”
And yes, coach Sydney Carter has continued to serve pink ’fits!
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Dare we say a style slam dunk?
