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If one is wondering how it got here, know this: Sophie Cunningham has never been one to back down.
Not as a young girl, not in college at Missouri, and not in the WNBA, where she’s made her name as a standout sixth player on Diana Taurasi’s Phoenix Mercury teams and now Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever. That approach to life was precisely the point of an ESPN feature released last month, which included a small section in which Cunningham spoke about transgender women in sports.
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The comments circulated widely and set ablaze a renewed conversation about transgender inclusion despite there being no active transgender woman playing or coming into the league. Asia Durr and Layshia Clarendon, two former WNBA players, are nonbinary with a birth sex of female. The newly passed 2026 collective bargaining agreement (CBA) stipulates that “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA.”
The NCAA enacted a policy last year that bars transgender women from women’s competitions, joining similar policies by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee. Twenty-seven states also have legislation barring transgender girls and women from women’s sports and collegiate sports.
NCAA president Charlie Baker testified in December 2024 that he knows of fewer than 10 transgender college student-athletes total. In an NBC News Stay Tuned Poll in 2025, 75% of respondents said they did not support trans women participating in female sports in a yes/no question. That figure is similar to Gallup polls conducted in 2021 and 2023. The WNBA is a progressive league; per VoteHub, it consists of 67.5% registered Democrats, and notably campaigned for Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, in the 2020 election that flipped the Senate blue.
Cunningham spoke previously on the topic of transgender women in sports at the height of those legislative conversations in 2022. Her view has not changed over the years, including the ESPN interview that set off the recent wave of conversation. Below is a comprehensive look at how we reached this cultural inflection point.
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March 2022: Cunningham references Lia Thomas
In March 2022, Cunningham retweeted a tweet from then-CBS Sports host Josh Pate that protested Penn swimmer Lia Thomas, who became the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I championship in any sport when she took the 500-yard freestyle race at the NCAA women’s swimming and diving championships.
“To my teammates, friends, family, supporters and fans, you know that I stand with all people, especially my fellow athletes,” Cunningham wrote in an iCloud note shared to Twitter the next day, on March 18, 2022. “I do not judge, but support all races, religions, sexual preferences and gender equity. We all have a place in this world to compete and I hope we are able to grant everyone that opportunity fairly.”
July 21, 2026: ESPN releases wide-ranging Sophie Cunningham feature
An ESPN article, “Love her or hate her, Sophie Cunningham won’t be ignored,” addressed the conjecture online that Cunningham is a “MAGA” Republican. Cunningham, a native of Columbia, Missouri, addressed it and spoke on previous comments made about transgender athletes.
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The paragraphs from ESPN, in full:
You say she’s a “MAGA Barbie,” as some corners of the internet have taken to calling her? Projection, she says, because of what she looks like and where she’s from. She’ll weigh in on how to “protect women’s sports,” she says, because she’s in that world and feels qualified to speak to that world. “I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that,'” she says. “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.”
But she also insists that none of this is some Rosetta Stone to unlocking the true nature of her political worldview.
“I’m very much in the middle. I agree with things on both sides, disagree with things on both sides. And that’s all I’ve ever said about my political beliefs. But people love to assume.”
A few days later, Indiana Fever beat reporters asked Cunningham to “expand on” those comments ahead of their final game before All-Star weekend.
“I said what I said. I think it’s kind of common sense. And I think I’ll always believe in that. I think it’s really important to protect children, and that’s little girls who are also involved in that category. And so, I stand on what I said and I’ll always believe that.”
She was asked whether this was an issue for which she’d outwardly advocate.
“I don’t know. I didn’t, I’m not a very political person, but I do have beliefs, I have morals and I’ll always stand on them [and] be true to who I am. I think people are going to take it how they want to take it, but I never really ever said anything about that. And so, when it comes just to protecting young girls in sport and women in sport, I feel very strongly about that. I think that’s why you have Title IX. That’s why you have some of the greats on women’s sports. If Title IX and women’s sports weren’t protected, then you wouldn’t hear about any type of women in sport. So I think in the future, it’s just really important to protect.”
She was also asked about the view that her comments were targets on transgender individuals.
“Like I said, I extend love. I don’t dislike anyone. I think there is room for absolutely everyone here. And I think there is room to love everyone. I truly think when you get people in the same room, you have conversations, you actually have a lot in common with a lot of people. I’m there to love, but I’m also there to love biological women and I think there are rights that need to be protected. Like I said, I’m going to stand true to that. I’ll never falter in my beliefs in that, but I’ve never once said I hated the trans community. Like I said, I think there’s space for everyone.”
Title IX, passed in 1972, reads: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.” It was intended for educational purposes, but is most often associated with athletics and had an outsized impact on girls’ participation in sport.
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July 23-27: All-Star weekend
Cunningham’s comments spurred conversation on social media outlets, but were largely in the background during All-Star weekend in Chicago, as she was not in attendance. The events were highlighted by former President Barack Obama visiting the All-Stars — including Fever teammates Caitlin Clark, Aliyah Boston and Kelsey Mitchell — at practice on Friday.
July 28: Rally planned outside Seattle arena
Ahead of the Fever’s return to play after the All-Star break, a small group stated their intent for a pro-Cunningham rally near Climate Pledge Arena for the game against the Storm. A few dozen gathered to promote two Washington state initiatives that would bar transgender students from participating in girls’ athletics in schools, according to the Associated Press.
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Cunningham and Clark did not speak to reporters after the game despite being requested, a violation of the WNBA’s media policy. When head coach Stephanie White was asked about the rally and Cunningham’s comments, the team’s public relations representative stepped in to read a statement:
“Neither our organization nor Sophie had any knowledge of this demonstration and no contact with its organizers,” the statement said. “Our only goal as a team, whether at home or away, is to win basketball games and make Fever fans for life, and we are united in that mission.”
Storm head coach Sonia Raman was also asked about it, and said in part that the organization “always wants to be an area where people feel welcome coming into this building.” She said from her understanding, everyone worked successfully for fans to feel safe, included and welcome.
July 29: Storm co-owner fined, suspended for confrontation
Two young women, wearing shirts advocating against the inclusion of transgender women in women’s sports, told a content producer that a woman identified as Storm minority owner Celeste Keaton confronted them while sitting courtside and told them they were “effing insane.” The girls held signs reading “We love you Sophie,” and “Thank you Sophie for speaking up for girls.”
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The league fined Keaton and suspended her for the team’s next five home games for the incident, Yahoo Sports confirmed. The Storm released a statement earlier in the day, after news of the interaction broke.
“We are aware one of our co-owners made comments to two fans in attendance at last night’s game,” Storm majority owner Ginny Gilder told Front Office Sports in a statement. “We apologize that this happened. Everyone who attends a Storm game deserves to feel welcome, and we remain committed to creating an inclusive environment where every fan is treated with respect.”
Cunningham tweeted in support of the girls “standing up for what they believe.”
July 31: Supporter rallies continue in Portland
Ahead of the Fever’s game in Portland, supporters came with signs and balloons to rally outside the Moda Center in support of Cunningham.
Before the game, White was asked about the issue and emphasized inclusion in her comments.
“I wouldn’t say I’m educated enough from a scientific standpoint, but I don’t ever believe that exclusion is an answer,” White told reporters. “I just don’t. I do think, when we think about various levels of sport, various governing bodies of sport and things that go into that, as I said, I’m not educated enough at the different levels. I know growing up that I played with the boys all the time. There weren’t girls sports back then.”
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Portland Fire head coach Alex Sarama was also asked for his opinion.
“[The transgender community has] our full support,” he said. “They’re a very important part of what the values of the Portland Fire are, at the end of the day. I want to make sure all the fans coming here tonight, I know our organization is going to be intentional in making sure our fans feel comfortable and supported when they come here to the Fire Pit.
“My focus as a basketball coach, being completely honest, I don’t think I’ve ever had time to think about that.”
“I have honestly had nothing to do with them,” Cunningham said, via the Associated Press. “I think it’s people just practicing their rights of freedom of speech and doing what other fans have been doing since the WNBA has started. And so props to them, props to everyone who is able to be competent and be bold and courageous enough to speak their truths.”
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Cunningham said she was not concerned that the rallies were a distraction for the team.
“I’m here to play basketball, but I’m also here to be me, and I’m not gonna like shadow that or hide or, you know, dim my light just because maybe people don’t agree with that.”
Aug. 2: Dueling rallies continue in Minnesota
The Fever’s road trip concluded in Minnesota, where again rallies were held outside of Target Center for and against the inclusion of transgender individuals in women’s sports.
Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve wore a T-shirt under her jacket that read, “Trans kids belong.” Reeve, a four-time WNBA championship coach who also works as the organization’s president of basketball operations, often wears T-shirts under a suit jacket that advocate for causes she cares about, and has spoken out often about trans rights.
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The day before the game, Reeve said that she comes “from a place of inclusion,” and believes the issue is that “a faction of people in our country” are making it into a massive issue, and claiming it as the biggest problem in women’s sports. She also spoke for the rights of demonstrators: “Everyone has a right to peacefully assemble. That’s whether you agree with them or not.”
Reeve and Cunningham were seen holding an extended conversation at midcourt before the game.
“Both of us understand that we have platforms and we both talked about wanting to, more than anything, educate,” Reeve said. “There are some things that we have in common, and maybe some things you differ on, just like any issues. I think it’s how you handle things. It was nice to be in person, for sure.”
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Clark, who was made available to reporters for the first time all week, was asked about the issue as the first question following the Fever’s 108-100 loss to the Lynx.
“I think it’s for leagues and governing bodies to work with their athletes to find solutions,” Clark said. “Our focus is on basketball. That’s what we talk about and how we can get wins and obviously we didn’t do that tonight. So we need to find an area to improve in that way.”
Aug. 6: Fever begin homestand
The Fever returned home this week and will host the Aces on Thursday (7 p.m. ET). They play in rival Chicago on Saturday, and return home for games against New York and Dallas.
