Sophie Cunningham said she is unconcerned that rallies attached to the Indiana Fever's recent games are a distraction, speaking before Friday night's contest against the Portland Fire. Supporters gathered outside the arena for a second consecutive game in support of the guard and her recent comments on transgender athletes.
“I think at the end of the day, I come in and I do my job,” Cunningham said. “I think everyone who knows me personally, they know that I’m full of love. I’m bubbly. I love the people around me. I love basketball. I love inspiring the next generation and doing that in a positive light. And so that doesn’t even cross my mind. Doesn’t cross my teammates’ minds. And again, 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.”
The Portland rally mirrored one before the Fever’s game against the Seattle Storm earlier in the week. Both drew roughly two dozen participants and a bevy of onlookers.
“I have honestly had nothing to do with them,” Cunningham said. “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 to speak their truths.”
Rallies and reactions
Another rally is planned for Sunday in Minneapolis, when the Fever play the Minnesota Lynx.
In Seattle on Tuesday, two Cunningham supporters sat courtside at Climate Pledge Arena holding signs. Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton was later fined an undisclosed amount and suspended for five games by the WNBA for an exchange with them. The Storm apologized without providing details, stating: “We remain committed to creating a welcoming and respectful environment for anyone who attends a Storm game.”
The Seattle rally also promoted I-26-638, a statewide ballot initiative that would bar transgender students from participating in girls’ athletics at Washington schools. It praised Cunningham, who has voiced support for barring transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports in recent interviews.
“I am here to be a cheerleader for Sophie Cunningham, who has so bravely put her head above the parapet to protect women and girls in our sports and in our locker rooms,” said Amy Souza, an organizer of the Portland and Seattle rallies. “I was an organizer of this event, I was a co-organizer of the Seattle event. I’m also here, standing in solidarity with those teen girls who, unfortunately, were harassed when they were just trying to be fans of the sport, fans of Sophie Cunningham.”
Game and coach’s view
Cunningham was booed by the Moda Center crowd in Portland when she entered the game midway through the first quarter, with many fans waving small pink, blue and white transgender flags.
The Fever won 112-98 for their fifth straight victory. Cunningham finished with 13 points, and Caitlin Clark recorded her fourth career triple-double with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.
Coach Stephanie White acknowledged frustration over the controversy pulling attention from the team’s play. “You know there is a frustration, of course, because we want to we want to talk about basketball and we want to continue to work on our game and we want to continue to grow as a team.,” White said. “But I also understand this is part of our growth edge as a league, right? It’s part of our growth as a league, and we have to to be able to manage, we have to be able to insulate as much as we can, and then we have to be able to lead with conversation.”
