Seattle Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton allegedly made a teenage girl cry for supporting Sophie Cunningham. The ongoing controversy surrounding transgender athletes continues to overshadow the actual on-court play in the WNBA.
It reached its boiling point on Tuesday night.
A minority owner of the Seattle Storm went way too far with her personal expression of opinion. The 26-year-old WNBA organization has since released a blanket apology through its majority owner.
Sophie Cunningham spoke out against transgender athletes in women’s sports.
Sophie Cunningham said in an ESPN profile on July 21 that she is “very much in the middle” when it comes to politics. However, the 29-year-old WNBA veteran does not believe that 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.”
The comments created a firestorm. Stephen A. Smith agreed with Cunningham, whose popularity continues to explode. Her sneakers sold out in just one hour. She added hundreds of thousands of followers on social media over the last few weeks.
But not everybody is on the same page!
Brianna Turner said the Indiana Fever swept a harassment case under the rug while speaking out against Cunningham’s comments on biological male athletes. West Wilson, Cunningham’s podcast co-host and lifelong best friend, offered a rebuttal to the controversy. It is the most discussed topic in the WNBA right now. Wins and losses do not seem to matter.
That leads us to Tuesday night…
If I had to guess, the average person could not tell you whether the Seattle Storm defeated the Indiana Fever or if the Indiana Fever defeated the Seattle Storm. A lot more people would know about what happened away from the court than on the court.
Seattle Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton made a teenage girl cry.
WNBA veteran Stefanie Dolson took a direct shot at Sophie Cunningham prior to the game. Meanwhile, a rally in support of the latter gathered outside of the arena— which ultimately led the Indiana Fever to shield Caitlin Clark from “gotcha” journalism.
A group of Cunningham’s supporters wore XX/XY t-shirts into the arena.
That includes two teenage girls, who had their $1,300 seats paid for by an anonymous donor. They sat courtside with signs that read: “WE LOVE YOU SOPHIE” and “THANK YOU SOPHIE FOR SPEAKING UP FOR GIRLS.”
Seattle Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton approached the two teenage girls at some point before or during the game. She allegedly told them that “Jesus loves everyone” and that she hopes “Jesus can forgive them” for their sins. And then her comments escalated to expletives, which made one of the two girls cry. Here is their first-hand account of what happened:
Last night, @seattlestorm co-owner Celeste Keaton cursed out two teen girls for wearing @xx_xyathletics shirts, calling them "f*cking insane." One of them was left in tears. I tried to get security involved and was told I should email the front office. pic.twitter.com/Qi8TcfRtYB
— Brandi Kruse (@BrandiKruse) July 29, 2026
Seattle Storm majority owner Ginny Gilder issued the following statement of apology to Front Office Sports on Wednesday afternoon.
“We are aware one of our co-owners made comments to two fans in attendance at last night’s game. We apologize that this happened. Everyone who attends a Storm game deserves to feel welcome, and we remain committed to creating an inclusive environment where every fan is treated with respect.”
The WNBA is trying so hard to grow but the off-court controversies continue to take away from the game. Nobody is talking about the final score or the standings. Everybody is talking about Sophie Cunningham, transgender athletes and, now, the Seattle Storm.