Sophie Cunningham feels the WNBA has space for discussing both basketball and controversies, like the one she started with her comments on transgender athletes partaking in women’s sports.
This season, the Indiana Fever guard’s popularity has soared amid a nationwide debate over the participation of transgender athletes. In a July 2026 article for ESPN, Cunningham talked about “protecting women’s sports” by prohibiting transgender athletes from playing in women’s and girls’ leagues.
Outside of Indiana’s games, “Support Sophie Cunningham” protests have become the norm ever since her ESPN profile dropped. After her comments against transgender athletes’ inclusion prompted a contentious national debate, three rallies, and social media backlash that reached even the White House, the Fever guard is now opening up about using her platform to bring back attention to basketball.
Speaking to USA Today, Cunningham noted, “People are like, ‘You have a platform. Use it,’ and then once you use it, it’s like, ‘Go back to playing basketball.’ I think the reason why I stated that is because you go into (the) media, and it’s not anything even about basketball. I think I could do both.”
“Ask me about what’s going on and what I said. And also ask me how great my teammates are doing, how great our team is doing, (and) how great the league is doing,” the recently turned 30-year-old added.
“We can be a great example of how to do both.”
Cunningham further told the outlet that she’s gotten used to the noise around her team since it has been there since 2025. Ever since she joined the Indiana’s locker room, she has grown into one of the biggest and most divisive figures in the league.
Nevertheless, she still wants to “protect our locker room” and showcase Indiana’s elite basketball prowess. Now that she wants to refocus the conversation on the game, the controversy over her recent comments is only gaining momentum.
In response to criticism of Cunningham’s objection to transgender athletes participating in women’s sports, at least one rally is scheduled for August 20, 2026, when the Dallas Wings visit Indiana. Before the Wings’ 7 p.m. game on Thursday, Texas Values and several groups, including Moms for Liberty, Moms for America, and the Independent Council on Women’s Sports (ICON), announced plans to host a press conference outside the American Airlines Center at 4 p.m.
Only recently, three fans were asked by WNBA security staff to cover shirts bearing messages about transgender women playing women’s sports during the Atlanta Dream vs. Indiana game in Atlanta. One individual donned a shirt supporting transgender people. In contrast, two others wore shirts stating that girls’ and women’s sports should be accessible only to those designated female at birth.
On August 17, 2026, the league issued a statement saying that fans are free to wear whatever they want.
According to The Associated Press, protests both for and against Cunningham’s comments have taken place in stadiums across Minnesota, Las Vegas, Portland, Seattle, and Chicago.
On August 18, 2026, Cunningham had to try to shrug off the boos that followed her at Scotiabank Arena. The moment she arrived for the Fever’s 101-95 victory over the Toronto Tempo, she was met with jeers from the crowd.
Canadian powerlifting champion April Hutchinson led a Sophie Cunningham rally in Toronto ahead of the Indiana Fever’s game against the Toronto Tempo, marking the first such rally outside the U.S.
The gathering drew Cunningham supporters as well as a small group of… pic.twitter.com/ZIIhbkNWeo
— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 19, 2026
Her views on the hypothetical situation of transgender women participating in the WNBA have made Cunningham a political lightning rod. Instead of hitting back at the hostile reception, the Fever guard hit the crowd back with some grace.
Following Fever’s victory over Tempo, Cunningham said, “I want to shout out the Tempo crowd and the city. It’s my first time being in Canada, but the crowd was absolutely amazing. I think that’s what sports is (sic) all about. You’re gonna get boos, and you’re gonna get cheers. But just the fact that they’re so passionate, they’re loud, and they’re putting on for the city, I think it’s amazing.”
