Sophie Cunningham believes that her comments and overall behavior have been a positive for the WNBA.
The Indiana Fever guard, who is in her second season with the franchise – she was traded from Phoenix ahead of the 2025 season – spoke out against transgender athletes in women’s sports. Cunningham believes that her comments have brought new fans to the WNBA.
“You have a lot of new fans, not only just watching, but coming to games and seeing the environment and seeing the talent,” Cunningham said before Fever’s loss to the New York Liberty in Brooklyn on Saturday, via the Associated Press. “I think anytime you can get more eyes on the W, that’s an awesome thing, because then that inspires other young kids that maybe have never seen the game or heard about the game or been to a game, they get that experience. So I definitely think that it’s been a very positive thing.”
Cunningham also praised fans for demonstrations outside of the arena.
“I think it’s awesome people are using their freedom of speech, but I’m where my two feet are.”
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Cunningham, though, is being mocked by some for taking credit for some growth in the WNBA.
Fans mock Cunningham for bragging about her impact
“Everyone loves being pandered to,” one fan wrote.
“She really thinks she did something by opening her arms to those people,” one fan added.
Meanwhile, Cunningham – who had 0 points, 0 rebounds and 0 assists in a loss to the Dallas Wings earlier this week – says that her comments off the court are not impacting her play on it.
“Look at my stats…I don’t know why people think this is such a big distraction…great time to be a Fever,” she told reporters.
The Fever are scheduled to return to the floor on Sunday evening, taking on the Chicago Sky. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. E.T
The game will air on Peacock.
