Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham spoke against the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports last month, leading to rallies taking place outside Fever games.
Ahead of Saturday’s Fever game at the New York Liberty, supporters and opponents of Cunningham’s remarks faced off outside Brooklyn Arena. NYPD officers and barricades were used to keep the groups separated.
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XX-XY Athletics founder and CEO Jennifer Sey, who supports Cunningham’s remarks, challenged the league to take a firm position on the matter through her brand’s X account on Sunday.
“‘WNBA needs to take a leadership position’ – Jennifer Sey,” the account posted.
As the transgender participation debate continues, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert is talking with the league’s stakeholders about the issue. The debate also prompted former NBA players Enes Kanter and Royce White to declare for the draft next year. The two players are directly challenging the WNBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, which fails to properly define the word “women” under gender eligibility norms.
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Sey, the founder of XX-XY Athletics, was a seven-time member of the U.S. women’s national gymnastics team and won the 1986 U.S. Women’s All-Around National Championship. She has become a prominent voice in the debate over gender eligibility in women’s sports, opposing the participation of transgender athletes.
Sophie Cunningham Calls for “Love, Unity and Peace” Amid Growing WNBA Controversy
On Aug. 5, Sophie Cunningham addressed the controversy surrounding her comments on transgender participation in women’s sports. The Fever guard called for “love, unity and peace” while making their stand in the debate.
“I have a clear and strong perspective on this. With that being said, I know that people are not always going to align and agree,” the Fever guard said on USA Network. “I totally understand that. But I think the most important thing is having that respect, having that love and pursuing peace in these conversations, in these debates, because I think that is healthy.”
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Cunningham doesn’t like how the debate has overtaken basketball.
“Now, with that being said, I just hate how the W, the basketball of it all, is just getting overshadowed,” Cunningham said. “I think you are seeing teams playing at the highest level they’ve ever played at. You see great basketball, the most elite-level basketball this league has ever seen. And it just makes me sad that all this kind of drama and things that truly don’t matter — the basketball is getting overshadowed.”
Cunningham’s attempt to redirect attention to basketball is probably not working, as rallies are taking place between the supporters and opponents of her comments at nearly every Fever game.
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