Sophie Cunningham
Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) celebrates scoring Thursday, June 18, 2026, during the first half of a game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Indiana Fever reserve Sophie Cunningham unknowingly sparked a nationwide controversy with her comments on transgender athletes competing in women’s sports in a July 21 ESPN profile.
“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that,’” she told ESPN. “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.”
Days later, Cunningham doubled down on her stance.
“I said what I said. I think it’s kind of common sense,” she said. “And I think I’ll always believe in that. I think it’s really important to protect children, and that’s little girls who are also involved in that category. I stand on what I said.”
More recently, Cunningham has tried to shift the focus back to basketball, but that didn’t stop a Sunday night altercation during Indiana’s game against the Chicago Sky. Sky guard Natasha Cloud got into a verbal spat with former NBA player Enes Freedom Kanter, who has “declared” for the 2027 WNBA draft as a transgender athlete.
Kanter was removed from the game, but the damage was done, and it became a major story by Monday.
“The moment the league didn’t discipline Sophie Cunningham for her transphobic comments, they set the table for almost all of this political discourse and nastiness towards the trans community. Her conduct has objectively been detrimental to the league,” Sportscaster Chris Williamson posted on X after the game.
Former NBA Finals champion Kyle Kuzma took the opportunity to jump to Cunningham’s defense on Monday.
“What was transphobic about her comment? She said she wants to protect women and young girls in sports and that they should not play against biological men,” Kuzma posted.
What was transphobic about her comment? She said she wants to protect women and young girls in sports and that they should not play against biological men… yeah let’s go ahead and discipline her 😵💫 https://t.co/MgA9FmhUGV
— kuz (@kylekuzma) August 24, 2026
The WNBA officially declared Kanter ineligible for the draft, but it doesn’t appear as if this story is going anywhere anytime soon.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers