Sophie Cunningham Breaks Silence on NYT Column Attacking Her

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham addressed a column in The Athletic, owned by The New York Times, that called for the team to move on from her ahead of free agency.

The piece labeled her “too combustible” because of the attention her views on transgender athletes in women’s sports have drawn, arguing that those positions had overshadowed the team’s basketball priorities.

Cunningham responded on her podcast “No Hesitation with Sophie Cunningham & Drew Hanlen,” telling critics of the column’s assessment of her play to “Suck it.”

She said she has stopped caring about outside opinions, adding, “That’s why I literally don’t even care what anyone says about me anymore. Because I’ve said this so many times, is if you’re going to live by the praise, you’re going to die by the hate.”

Cunningham affirmed she would keep doing what she does, stating, “No matter what anyone 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.”

Her co-host Drew Hanlen called the column an “absolute hate piece” and defended her statistical value, noting she ranked fourth among WNBA bench scorers and was a top-five three-point shooter.

Hanlen cited her 60.8 percent effective field goal percentage, which ranked fourth in the league, and said many teams would want a top-five bench scorer who is also a top-five three-point shooter overall.

He argued that if the writer simply disliked her, the criticism should stay limited to that rather than misrepresenting the basketball facts.

Cunningham’s opposition to biological males competing in girls’ and women’s sports has produced demonstrations outside Fever games from both supporters and opponents.

In the 2026 season she appeared in 43 games, averaging 7.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists while shooting 41.9 percent from three-point range.

The column acknowledged her value as a protective teammate but still recommended the Fever part ways with her as she enters unrestricted free agency.