Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham isn’t interested in changing her stance on transgender inclusion in women’s sports.
During the WNBA’s regular season, Cunningham had an in-depth interview with ESPN. Not only did she address the criticism she gets online, she talked about protecting women’s sports. Her stance on transgender inclusion led to some fans booing her every time she touched the basketball. There were also some pro-Cunningham rallies in the summer.
“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans,” Cunningham told ESPN. “And I’m like, ‘I never once said that.’ 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.”
Even though Cunningham faced plenty of criticism, she once again addressed this hot topic.
Earlier this week, the girls cross-country team for Camas High School made headlines when members protested the school’s decision to let a transgender student switch from the boys’ team to the girls’ team mid-season.
Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images.
Despite the outrage online, the Camas School District said they followed the state’s guidelines for gender-specific participation in sports.
“School personnel responsible for student eligibility work collaboratively with the student-athlete to determine eligibility under those rules,” the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association’s policy states.
The XX-XY Athletics Instagram account shared footage of the girls’ team protesting this decision. Their actions received a public response from Cunningham.
“Good work girls,” Cunningham wrote.
Sophie Cunningham isn’t backing down.
During a recent episode of her “No Hesitation” podcast, Cunningham made it clear that she’s not fazed by her critics.
“I literally don’t even care what anybody says about me anymore, because I’ve said this so many times — if you’re going to live by the praise, you’re going to die by the hate. The majority of these have never picked up a ball in their entire lives and they’re just like thirsty to like, have attention or be relevant in some type of way. No matter what anybody says to me, I’m going to continue to do me. I know what I bring to the table, it’s not always in the stat sheet. And so, for you to like, not say I’m effective or any of that, whatever,” she said on a recent podcast.
Clearly, Cunningham is willing to double down on her beliefs.
