A WNBA Star Finally Said the Quiet Part Out Loud About Girls’ Sports

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham addressed the debate over biological males in women’s sports during a recent ESPN interview, emphasizing the need to protect young female athletes.

“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that,’” Cunningham said. “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.”

She described herself as “very much in the middle” on political issues but firm on this point. Cunningham previously faced backlash in 2022 for resharing a post supporting female collegiate athletes against competition from transgender swimmer Lia Thomas.

Riley Gaines, who competed against Thomas, has publicly encouraged elite female athletes including Cunningham to speak out more forcefully. Cunningham’s comments add a prominent WNBA voice to the ongoing national conversation about fairness in women’s sports.