In tight leather pants and heels on the court, basketball coach Sydney Carter is at the center of criticism for her appearance

A Texas A&M women’s basketball coach has faced backlash for wearing pink leather tights to a game.  Upon seeing the many negative comments, coach Sydney Carter decided to respond through a statement, writes Dailymail.  “I’m unapologetically myself every day, I could care less if someone thinks I’m extra. “I’m not going to turn off my light because someone else is offended or intimidated by me embracing myself,” said Sydney Carter.

The 31-year-old coach believes race plays a major factor in the criticism leveled at her.  “I think people are uncomfortable with a black woman being in a position of power,” she told Yahoo. “When you see a woman of color who is actually confident and embracing herself, I think that’s very awe-inspiring,” she added.

The buzz started when Carter posted pictures on social media from the Feb. 6 game against the Kentucky Wildcats. She wore tight pink leather pants, paired with a white turtleneck, high heels and a pink pin, which is a symbol of the fight against breast cancer.  Some fans were quick to question whether the outfit was ‘appropriate’ for a sports game.  “Is this outfit appropriate as a basketball coach?” Wayne Walker wrote on Facebook alongside photos of Carter’s appearance.

“I don’t feel it at all if she is a basketball coach. She looks like a nightclub girl and you can’t take her seriously,” criticized another person.  Another social media user called the appearance ‘inappropriate’, saying ‘she should get a fine no matter what’.  Others expressed concern that her heels might damage the basketball’s wooden floor.  But some supported Carter and her freedom to wear what she chooses — and blasted her critics as sexist.

“Sydney Carter is a legend at and she’s doing her job as a coach,” ESPN reporter Terrika Foster-Brasby tweeted. “The last thing anyone needs to worry about is her outfit – which looks amazing,” she continued.  “Why women’s clothing is in someone’s backyard,” read another tweet. “She looks stunning in her outfit. Maybe we should start asking the same questions about male counterparts across the board.”  “I like this”, wrote one user on Facebook. “This is showing her player staff that they can still maintain their femininity,” wrote another.

On Instagram, her team even posted a photo of Carter walking onto the court in a white leather skirt and white heels with the players in the background, with the caption, “Let them talk.”  Carter said that her appearance, clothing and skills have been constantly discussed throughout her career.  Unlike basketball, she said, it is impossible for a woman to completely win public opinion.  “You hear a lot of times that people don’t want to watch women play basketball because there are too many who look manly, or play like a boy or don’t play enough like a boy,” she said.

“Women cannot please anyone in any aspect of life. As a woman, it is quite difficult. It’s hard enough that we don’t get paid the same or that people think we can’t do some of the same things or something as men in a male-dominated industry,” she added.  The basketball coach added that the positive feedback she received for last Sunday’s fashion choice made her heart ‘smile’.  Most of all, Carter wants to be a positive influence on the girls she coaches — and feels the leather pants controversy has definitely served as a lesson.  “I think a lot of college kids these days struggle to be confident and accept who they really are because they’re afraid of what the world will say,” she said.