Aryna Sabalenka's fitness coach, Jason Stacy, was spotted wearing a hat by the brand "XX-XY Athletics" during her most recent match at the US Open, which has enraged some fans.
Sabalenka's level at the US Open was already generating plenty of attention. The pre-tournament favorite reached the semifinal after an outstanding display against the Olympic gold medalist Qinwen Zheng.
The Belarusian's powerful style of tennis is working a treat at Flushing Meadows. Sabalenka's average forehand speed has been faster than men's players like Carlos Alcaraz, which is incredible.
However, many fans were not focused on what was happening on the court during her contest against Zheng. They concentrated on Stacy's choice of hat while sitting in the stands watching.
XX-XY Athletics is a sportswear brand that styles itself as supporting biological women in sports in particular. It was founded by retired artistic gymnast and ex-Levi's president, Jennifer Sery.
The brand's mission is to "protect women's sports and spaces" and maintain "fairness" by opposing transgender presence in women's sports. Figures such as former swimmer Riley Gaines have supported this mission.
However, the brand is very controversial. Some are opposed to their message and think it is one based on bigotry and dislike of transgender people. Others generally support the cause but think some of the brand's rhetoric is needlessly divisive.
That rhetoric has led to XX-XY Athletics being banned from some social media platforms. TikTok permanently suspended the brand from advertising on the platform for "political speech" and "hate" towards transgender people.
Other social media platforms have censored the brand less directly. For example, Meta Shadow banned XX-XY Athletics, which means that a user's posts or comments are no longer visible to other users.
One fan on social media accused the US Open of hypocrisy, saying it had a pride night at this year's tournament, but none of the tournament organizers have commented publicly on Stacy's hat.
"Too bad that the @usopen, which instituted a Pride Night this year, and was the first major with an openly trans competitor, has nothing to say about this."
Another fan on X (formerly Twitter) mentioned XX-XY Athletics being banned on TikTok for transphobia and found it incredible that a player's coach could advertise that brand during a match.
"i feel like im going crazy because one of the biggest tennis players in the world (sabalenka)'s coach is wearing an advertisement for a brand that got banned from tik tok for hate speech at the biggest tournament in the world and no one else is talking about it."
Sabalenka has not commented on whether she agrees with the message promoted by XX-XY Athletics. However, she liked an Instagram post from the brand that brought attention to Stacy, who was also wearing their hat at the Cincinnati Open.
This is a divisive topic that is sure to cause heated debate among many fans online. Hopefully, as much of the discussion about the issue as possible can be done respectfully, without hatred toward any group.
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