Although she first rose to prominence by defending her more recognizable teammate Caitlin Clark, Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham is becoming a big WNBA star in her own right.
And given that spotlight, it might be tempting for her to either cave to the WNBA’s leftist ideology or remain silent altogether when asked about a hot-button issue like transgender athletes.
While Cunningham clearly stopped short of some more outspoken athletes like Riley Gaines, she offered a coherent take on the subject during a recent ESPN interview.
As Fox News reported:
“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that,’” Cunningham said.
“I think that I am here to extend love. But I also think with that love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.
ADVERTISEMENT“I’m very much in the middle. I agree with things on both sides, disagree with things on both sides. And that’s all I’ve ever said about my political beliefs. But people love to assume.”
Her remarks sparked some social media discussion:
I often wonder how the left isn’t able to READ THE FREAKING ROOM! It’s like they keep hanging on to this crazy notion that people still give AF being called “tWaNsPhObIc”. All they are doing is making women like Sophie and Riley more likable because 98% of the 🌎agrees with them
— 🪷🪬The 🇺🇸Conservative 🇺🇸Hippie🪷🪬 (@AmandaCook90514) July 22, 2026
I’m really liking Sophie Cunningham more each day. Not only does is she baptized, against men in women’s sports, but also supports military families pic.twitter.com/tcn6tJuE5B
— Cassie N (@cass_nguyen_) July 22, 2026
More @WNBA players need to come out and back her! She will get scrutinized since a majority of the players are pro lgtbq… #Keepmenoutofwomensports
— McBisonEntertainment (@McBisonEnt) July 22, 2026
Naturally, the media honed in on the backlash she received, as in this Yahoo Sports article:
Needless to say, this is a pretty strong stand from Cunningham, but she received a lot of criticism as a result.
“Cannot imagine being an adult with a large platform and choosing to bully vulnerable children in this way. truly disgusting and beyond disappointing,” one fan wrote in a post on X.
“It would be incredibly hard for me to share a locker room with that woman,” someone else wrote.
“Sophie Cunningham is unafraid. Unafraid to be blatantly transphobic. ‘I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.’ Her own words. In an ESPN article,” WNBA reporter Roberta F. Rodrigues wrote.
Here’s another recent viral moment that helped increase Cunningham’s visibility:
What are your thoughts?
This is a Guest Post from our friends over at WLTReport. View the original article here.
