Texas A&M coach Sydney Carter defends herself for wearing pink leather pants to a game
‘People are just uncomfortable with a black woman in a power position’: Texas A&M basketball coach defends her outfit choice after being criticized for wearing tight pink leather pants and high heels to a game
Texas A&M assistant women’s basketball coach Sydney Carter, 31, has defended her choice to wear pink leather pants to a game after she received backlash ‘I’m unapologetically myself every day’, she said The furor began when Carter shared a photo of herself at the February 6 game against the Kentucky WildcatsShe was wearing the tight pink leather pants paired with a white turtleneck, clear heels and a pink breast cancer awareness pin at her chest.‘Is this outfit appropriate as a basketball coach? one fan demanded to know Rather than the concerns about professionalism or practicality voiced by scores on social media, Carter thinks the problem lies with her status as a black woman ‘When you see a black woman who is actually confident and embracing herself, I think that that’s very intimidating’Ultimately, the former WNBA player said, she wasn’t trying to set trends or upend norms – she just wanted to ‘unapologetically [be] myself’
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A Texas A&M women’s basketball assistant coach hit back after facing backlash for wearing pink leather pants and stilettos to a game.
‘I’m unapologetically myself every day, I could care less if anybody thinks that I’m being extra,’ Sydney Carter said in response to her critics. ‘I’m not gonna turn up turn my light off because somebody else is offended or intimidated by the fact that I embrace myself.’
The 31-year-old Aggies assistant coach believes race plays a major factor in the criticism.
‘I just think that people are uncomfortable with a black woman being in a power position,’ she told Yahoo. ‘When you see a black woman who is actually confident and embracing herself, I think that that’s very intimidating.’
The furor began when Carter shared photos of herself at the February 6 game against the Kentucky Wildcats. She was wearing the tight pink leather pants paired with a white turtleneck, clear heels and a pink breast cancer awareness pin at her chest.
Texas A&M coach Sydney Carter defends her outfit choice after being criticized for wearing pink leather pants to a game
Texas A&M women’s basketball assistant coach Sydney Carter, pictured on Sunday, hits back after facing backlash for wearing pink leather pants and stilettos to a game
The furor began when Carter shared photos, like the one pictured, of herself at the February 6 game against the Kentucky Wildcats
Some fans were quick to ask if the outfit was ‘appropriate’ for the court.
‘Is this outfit appropriate as a basketball coach?’ Wayne Walker wrote on Facebook alongside photos of Carter’s look.
‘I’m not feeling it at all if she is coaching basketball. Looks like club gear and you want to be taken serious,’ another person weighed in.
One fan called the get-up ‘inappropriate period,’ saying ‘she should get ticket/fine whatever.’
‘Why would u dress in pants that tight to coach?’ asked @PiEzEyTheOne.
Others voiced concern over whether stilettos could damage the wooden basketball courts.
But some were supportive of Carter and her freedom to wear what she chooses – and slammed her critics as sexist.
‘I just know y’all aren’t coming for Sydney Carter for looking D*** GOOD on the sidelines coaching,’ tweeted @NuthinButNetteZ ‘I JUST KNOW YALL ARENT! NOT DURING BLACK HISTORY MONTH!’
‘Sydney Carter is a legend at TAMU and she’s doing her thing as a coach,’ tweeted ESPN reporter Terrika Foster-Brasby. ‘The last thing ppl need to be worried about is her outfit – which looks AMAZING by the way.’
‘Why are women’s ‘fits on the court of any one’s concern,’ read another tweet. ‘She looks stunning in her attire. Maybe we should start asking the same questions about the male counter parts across the board.’
‘I love this,’ wrote a Facebook user. ‘It’s showing her players staff etc they can still be hoppers and maintain their femininity.’
Carter, pictured right, said she always shares her game day outfits on social media
On Instagram, her team even posted photos of Carter walking onto the court in a white leather skirt and matching white heels with players in tow, captioned ‘Let them talk. We got your back’
On Instagram, her team even posted photos of Carter walking onto the court in a white leather skirt and matching white heels with players in tow, captioned ‘Let them talk. We got your back.’
Carter, who said she ‘literally posts every outfit,’ said her looks, outfits and abilities, have been discussed ad nauseam throughout her career.
The longtime Texas A&M player turned WNBA basketballer, has worked professionally with her alma mater since 2020.
Carter played for the Aggies between 2008 and 2012 and was a three-time team captain. She ranks 10th of all time in steals (206) and 18th in points (1,176), according to the Texas A&M website. She was selected 27th overall in the WNBA draft to the Chicago Sky, where she played for four years.
For seven years subsequently, she played countries such as Latvia and Israel internationally, becoming a three-time Latvian/Estonian Champion and winning an Eastern European League Championship in 2016.
Unlike basketball, she said it’s impossible for a woman to ever win over the court of public opinion entirely.
‘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,’ she said.
‘Women can never satisfy anybody in any aspect of life. Just as a woman, it’s hard enough. It’s hard enough that we’re not paid the same or that people think that we can’t do some of the same things or something as well as men in a male-dominated industry.’
Carter, pictured, played for the Aggies between 2008 and 2012 and was a three-time team captain. She was selected 27th overall in the WNBA draft to the Chicago Sky, where she played for four years. For seven years subsequently, she played countries such as Latvia and Israel internationally, becoming a three-time Latvian/Estonian Champion and winning an Eastern European League Championship in 2016
Carter said it’s impossible for a woman to ever win over the court of public opinion entirely. ‘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’
Carter said she’s ‘not gonna turn [her] light off because somebody else is offended or intimidated by the fact that [she] embraces herself’
While she said she was accustomed to this sort of reaction to her attire, she said she wasn’t trying to ‘kick down any barriers’ or to ‘set a trend’ with the ensemble.
She added that the positive feedback she’s received on last Sunday’s fashion choice has made her ‘heart smile.’
Above all else, Carter wants to be a positive influence on the women she coaches – and feels that the leather pants controversy has ultimately served as a lesson.
‘I think a lot of college kids these days struggle with being confident and embracing who they really are because they are afraid of what the world will say. And I hope that I am a living example of who cares what they say.’
