Sports

Indiana Fever Shield Caitlin Clark From Transgender Outrage While The WNBA Resists Sophie Cunningham

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Sophie Cunningham Transgender Protest Seattle Storm Indiana Fever Caitlin Clark
Steven Bisig-Imagn Images

Neither Sophie Cunningham nor Caitlin Clark were made available for the postgame press conference on Tuesday night in Seattle. The Indiana Fever did not associate itself with the various protests surrounding transgender athletes in women’s sports.

Its selected representatives looked exhausted by the ongoing dialogue.

The biggest storyline surrounding the WNBA has nothing to do with basketball. I don’t know whether it is a good thing that people are talking about the league or a bad thing because the casual fans are quickly losing interest. I lean toward the latter.

Sophie Cunningham’s comments on transgender athletes created a divide.

This whole thing started with an ESPN profile on July 21. Sophie Cunningham addressed the claims that she is ‘MAGA’ and spoke about her political beliefs. She said that she is “very much in the middle” and agrees/disagrees with things on both sides of the aisle. With that being said, the 29-year-old does not believe biological men should be allowed to participate in women’s sports.

“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that.’ 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.”

Stephen A. Smith agreed with Cunningham, who later doubled down on what she says is “common sense.” Meanwhile, Cunningham’s Adidas sneakers sold out in just one hour as her popularity continues to explode.

But not everybody agrees!

Brianna Turner said the Indiana Fever swept a harassment case under the rug while speaking out against Cunningham’s comments on transgender athletes. West Wilson, Cunningham’s podcast co-host and lifelong best friend, offered a rebuttal to the controversy. WNBA veteran Stefanie Dolson also took a direct shot at Cunningham prior to the game between the Seattle Storm and Indiana Fever on Tuesday night.

According to boots on the ground, fans in The Emerald City booed the visiting forward at a few different points throughout the evening. Cunningham, who finished with 11 points, five rebounds and two assists in a 10-point win, was not fazed.

Unfortunately, the WNBA game became more about the transgender conversation than basketball. A group of Cunningham supporters gathered outside of the arena prior to tipoff.

They were met by a group of pro-trans protesters.

It was fairly uneventful on both sides.

A group of women wore XX/XY t-shirts to the game.

One of them sat courtside with a sign to thank Sophie Cunningham.

XX XY Sophie Cunningham Support Sign Seattle Storm Courtside
ESPN

Just a few seats down sat another woman with a different sign. It read: “No hate in these United States.” However, it appeared as though the fan in support of Cunningham was asked to remove her sign. The other woman was not.

I cannot say for certain but it does seem strange that one sign remained courtside for the entire game while the other did not. Maybe she got tired of holding it. Maybe she was asked to put it down. As of this writing, we do not know for certain.

The Indiana Fever swapped out Caitlin Clark.

Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham were not made available to the media at the postgame press conference. The biggest star in the WNBA was apparently scratched from the lineup at the last minute.

As you could imagine, the reporter with a rainbow flag listed next to her name on social media wanted to talk about transgenders. She asked the Indiana Fever’s player representatives and their head coach about the pro-Cunningham “rally” prior to (and during) the game. The players looked fatigued by the dialogue. Head coach Stephanie White deferred to a statement from the organization.

Although Cunningham was not made available to the media, the same reporter was not going to ask her the same question anyway.

She was going to ask Clark an even more direct question.

If I had to guess, the Indiana Fever pulled Clark from the postgame press conference to avoid this exact “gotcha” situation. It is much easier to avoid a potential conflict than to backtrack after the fact.