Despite all the speculation online, Sophie Cunningham hasn’t given any indication that she’s moving on from the WNBA this upcoming offseason.
There have been plenty of rumblings surrounding Cunningham ever since she spoke to ESPN about protecting women’s sports from transgender inclusion. Some fans are convinced teams will pass up on signing her in free agency because of all the mid-season drama she dealt with.
After the Indiana Fever wrapped up their regular-season finale, an account on X called “Fever Updates” posted a fake quote about Caitlin Clark giving Cunningham a “proper farewell.”
“We wanted to give Sophie a proper farewell in her final WNBA regular-season game of her career,” the fake quote read. “I wish Sophie nothing but the best as she begins the next chapter of her life. She hasn’t told us much about what’s next, but I could definitely see her working at the U.N. and advocating for women’s rights.”
Even though Clark didn’t make those remarks, WNBA fans ran with them and started wondering if we’ve seen the last of Cunningham on the hardwood.
However, this was clearly a social media user’s attempt at going viral. Cunningham has not announced her plans for next season.
Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Sophie has been productive this year.
Cunningham wasn’t thrilled about the Fever only offering a one-year contract last offseason.
“It’s tough, because I came off an injury, and I haven’t been in front of any teams. I had a lot going on this offseason,” Cunningham said. “I was fully cleared, they had all the doctors, they had the numbers and everything. But if you don’t get in front of these people, it’s like, ‘Hey, are you actually good?’ I’m not even gonna lie to you, though, it’s a little, kind of, frustrating. Because I’m someone who, I kind of shoot it straight. If I wasn’t feeling good or was hesitant, I think I would have said something and been honest. Because I’m just at the point in my career where I just want to win. I just want to win. And so I’m not going to put my ego in front of things. And I know it is a business, but I just think I’m wired a little differently. I don’t know. I just want to win.”
Cunningham has rewarded the Fever this season by averaging 7.9 points per game on 41.9% shooting from the 3-point line.
The Fever will face the Las Vegas Aces in the opening round of the playoffs. Game 1 is set for this Sunday at 4 p.m. ET.
