With a single interview with ESPN over a month ago, Sophie Cunningham has become one of the faces of the ongoing women’s sports debate. In the eyes of one former NBA player, she’s an American hero.
Appearing on Fox News, former NBA center Enes Kanter Freedom declared that Cunningham is an American hero for inspiring girls everywhere. He said that he receives messages all the time, even from people outside the U.S., asking him to say hi to Cunningham if he ever sees her.
“First of all, I want to say she’s an American hero. Everywhere she goes, I see now a lot of people are coming out and actually defending her. But obviously, if you’re standing up for something that you believe in, you’re going to get hate all the time. But I think she’s inspiring not only the players in WNBA but girls from all over the world, not only in America, because I get so many messages and they’re saying that from all over the world. They’re saying, ‘Hey, if you ever see Sophie, can you please say hi to her?'”
Cunningham in the center of it all
Cunningham has become an unexpected central figure in the U.S. debate over transgender participation in women’s sports. In July 2026, the Indiana Fever guard said she believes transgender women should not compete against biological women, framing her position around protecting female athletes and girls.
She subsequently reaffirmed those views despite significant criticism, making her an unusually prominent conservative voice within a WNBA that has historically been associated with progressive and LGBTQ+ advocacy. Her comments received support from conservative politicians and commentators, including the White House, while drawing criticism from other WNBA players and coaches.
Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images.
The controversy has extended well beyond Cunningham’s original remarks, turning her into a symbol in a much larger American culture-war debate about sex, gender and the future of women’s athletics. Rallies supporting her position have appeared outside Fever games, while supporters of transgender inclusion have staged counter-demonstrations and WNBA figures have publicly emphasized LGBTQ+ inclusion.
The league has also faced criticism over how it handles the issue, even though no transgender woman has played in the WNBA. As a result, Cunningham’s impact has been less about changing an existing WNBA policy and more about forcing women’s sports into a highly polarized national conversation, giving conservative audiences a prominent professional female athlete who challenges the prevailing political culture of the league.
