Supporters and opponents of men’s inclusion in women’s sports held competing demonstrations outside Barclays Center before Saturday’s game between the New York Liberty and Indiana Fever.
The rallies followed Sophie Cunningham’s recent comments about transgender athletes. Around 60 Cunningham supporters and more than 100 pro-trans demonstrators gathered outside the arena, with NYPD officers and barricades separating the groups.
Dr. Elizabeth Fedak, who organized the rally supporting Cunningham, argued that women’s sports should remain separated by sex.
“It’s very important to me that we be able to speak the truth about what a woman is and what our bodies are. I’m here standing for basic material reality, women’s sports were created for women, and it needs to stay that way to ensure fairness,” Fedak said.
Congressional candidate Vance Bostic attended the opposing demonstration.
“We need to change the way we view trans people in sports and make it more universal for everyone to play in sports,” Bostic said.
Cunningham previously said she wanted to “protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”
She later pushed back against accusations that she was hostile toward transgender people.
“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that,’” Cunningham said.
Similar protests have followed several Fever games, while the WNBA continues discussing transgender eligibility without announcing new rules.
Asked about Saturday’s demonstration, Cunningham said she was focused on the game.
“It’s happened every game and so I’ve already kind of stated how I feel about all that,” she said.
“And it’s cool that people are using their freedom of speech and doing what they want to do but that’s them, and I’m in my two feet. I’m where I’m at, and so I’m just focused on New York.”
Sophie Cunningham supporters, detractors, rally outside NYC arena during Liberty-Fever WNBA game https://t.co/jDFfKHufYv pic.twitter.com/Jv9ayR1Dxi
— New York Post (@nypost) August 23, 2026
