Sophie Cunningham‘s statement about transgender athletes in women’s sports has become a major discussion topic not only in the WNBA but also beyond it. It has sparked a national debate that has unfortunately become political, with public figures taking advantage and milking the story for their interests, making the issue bigger than basketball.
During a recent interview, Cunningham talked about how it has snowballed into a distraction for the WNBA because the media, which is supposed to cover the basketball that’s being played in the league, refuses to let the conversation go.
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“I think there’s so much good going on in the WNBA. I think basketball has been played at the highest level it has been. I think our team, in specific, we are breaking history right now with the amount of points that we’re scoring in back-to-back-to-back games. There are just so much distractions,” Cunningham said.
“I think the WNBA media, all we ever do is cover everything except basketball. And it’s like ‘What are we doing?’ You can talk about other things. I think those are great stories. It shows fans who people are outside the court. But I also think we gotta keep the main thing the main thing.”
Sophie and the Fever are playing great basketball
Cunningham is having one of her best seasons in the WNBA this year. She is averaging 9.3 points per game, her best in three years, and making 1.8 3-pointers per game at a career-high 45.2 percent from 3-point range. Sophie’s 48.2 percent field goal and 88.5 percent free throw percentages are also career-best numbers.
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The Fever are 19-11 on the season, and as of Tuesday, they were half a game ahead of the Atlanta Dream for the best record in the Eastern Conference. Indiana leads the league in scoring at 96.2 points per game, and guard Kelsey Mitchell was recently named the Eastern Conference Player of the Month.
However, we’ve heard more about the protests that have been going on during the Fever’s recent road games, the reactions from both sides to her transgender comments, and even an off-court incident involving a supporter and a WNBA co-team owner. Sophie says the media has to do better.
It was just a reply, not a statement
As to her statement, which has gone supernova, Cunningham explained that it was not meant to make her stance on the issue known, nor to infuriate one side of the debate. She was merely answering an interview question about an incident that happened four years ago, which also became controversial.
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“I think there’s a lot to be said and I’m gonna let people just do the speaking for themselves. But for me, I want to get back to basketball. It’s always been about basketball. That interview happened in February when I was asked a question…I was asked a question, and that’s simply what it was. I didn’t make a statement to make a statement. So I was trying to clear the air. And I did that, back in February. So it is what it is,” she added.
If you read that article again, Sophie said she ‘got a lot of negative feedback’ about hating transgender people, referring to a 2022 retweet about a trans swimmer winning an NCAA title. But while explaining her side, she also talked about protecting girls from biological males. That line has become the media’s primary focus when, according to her, it’s not the main point at all. But it sells and generates far more clicks than talking about the Fever’s historic shooting does.
Related: “They want to hush you” – Sophie Cunningham on being a Christian in the WNBA
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Aug 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the WNBA section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
