Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham addressed the anti-trans athlete protests that her comments have sparked over the last month.
After Cunningham publicly advocated protecting women’s sports from biological men in July, it made headlines across the world and became a hot topic of political discourse.
There have been various protests against trans inclusion in women’s sports since, primarily at WNBA games, with protestors using Cunningham’s comment and pictures to promote their ideas.
Sophie Cunningham makes her stance clear as protestors mount outside WNBA games
The 30-year-old Cunningham finally shared how she feels when anti-trans protestors use her image and her past words as rallying points before the Fever vs. Liberty game on Saturday.
“I said what I said, this is nothing new. It’s happened every game, and I have already stated how I feel about this, I’m focused on New York tonight. I think it’s cool people are using their freedom of speech, but I’m where my two feet are.”
Cunningham has previously danced around the question by openly saying that she wants people to focus on basketball, but she also did not denounce the protestors for using her likeness to spread their message.
Cunningham also seemed to make it clear that she does not intend to appear at any of these pre-game protests to focus on basketball.
She might become more open and frank while discussing this topic after the WNBA season ends, as Cunningham is clearly being very careful with her messaging now, lest it be misinterpreted and make a chaotic situation even worse for her and the Fever.
Competing rallies at Fever vs. Liberty game
The New York Liberty hosted Cunningham’s Fever on Saturday, leading to multiple rallies outside the arena.
One was supporting trans athletes while the other protested against them, with Cunningham imagery in tow.
New York’s progressive views led to a lot of pro-trans messages from fans, and even inside the Barclays Center, reflecting the WNBA’s intention to make every fan feel comfortable.
The crowd that is against trans inclusion anyway is not usually a patron of the WNBA and is jumping onto this political hot topic for their personal beliefs rather than an active love for the sport.
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