Sophie Cunningham’s outspokenness whenever she gets a microphone in front of her face has led us to this point in WNBA history, where a conversation about biological male athletes in women’s sports is dominating the conversation.
Now she wants to get the focus back on WNBA basketball.
Her comments about protecting girls and women’s sports set off a firestorm of reactions that resulted in protest rallies and prominent figures across the league getting distracted from the game and entangled in a mess of political propaganda.
Cunningham is understanding the true power of her words and how she’s created quite a mess. So ever since, she’s been silent on the issue, while others fight it out across social media platforms. From Stephen A. Smith to Clay Travis, Dave Portnoy and WNBA coaches, everybody has an opinion.
Sophie Cunningham Blames Growing Sports Debate On Media
In a recent interview, Cunningham appeared frustrated with how the narrative has taken over the league, and seems to be trying to re-focus people on the actual sport.
“The WNBA media, all we ever do is cover everything except basketball,” she groused. “You can talk about other things, those are great stories, it shows fans who people outside of the court, but I think we gotta keep the main thing the main thing.”
It’s a little too late for that. Once she decided to choose a side and publicly state her stance about such a potentially volatile issue, she was going to have to follow up her statement against plenty of pushback.
That’s why if Cunningham wasn’t ready to lead this difference of philosophy then she should have stayed out of it from the beginning. She has a popular podcast where she also gives her personal opinions and has placed herself in a media capacity, while playing, which is very hard to do. That’s why most teams would prefer their players to focus on hoops and not champion various political or social causes during the season.
Fans React To Sophie Cunningham Trying To Get Focus Back On Basketball Court
Cunningham’s change of energy isn’t sitting well with some fans, who accuse her of being a willing participant in everything negative that has come from this issue. Some even described it as cowardice. One offered an extended breakdown about Cunningham’s role in the current controversy:
“Imagine that you start a fight you get all the folks with and crazies ( MAGA) with hidden agendas to Support you even though it’s really about their hidden , in plain sight, agendas, you distract your team that’s a championship caliber team, you cause the crazies to turn on your team leader, who just wants to play, you jeopardize team chemistry., YOU MAKE MONEY from this because you have no real talent then after you set the house you turn around and say I JUST WANT TO KEEP THE MAIN THING THE MAIN THING.
Are you f–n kiddin me?? The people that follow you want other people to speak on your behalf but they won’t because they’re not stupid. You won’t because you’re a no talent coward. And now Fox News MAGA and all the crazies in social media know that you’re a coward and they should feel stupid.”
“Wasn’t she the one that brought up the topic to espn or am I trippin ?” one fan said.
“We’re being gaslighted by this bum,” said another.
“So why is she blaming the media when she’s the one that started this,” one user asked.
“The same girl who made headlines being a ring girl in the middle of the season. But yes, let’s just talk about basketball,” a netizen added.
Cuningham fans were quick to point out that the ESPN reporter asked Sophie a question and she gave an “honest answer.” She could have also read the room and given no answer at all like Caitlin Clark did.
Cheryl Reeve Confronts Sophie Cunningham About Her Comments
Prior to Indiana’s game against the Minnesota Lynx on Monday, Cunningham was confronted by Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve before the game, and the two engaged in passionate conversation concerning Cunningham’s words.
“I respect her for coming up in person. A lot of people hide behind screens … She had stories about her point of view and I had stories about my point of view. We left with love and respect,” Cunningham said.
Golden State Valkyries coach Natalie Nakase also championed inclusivity, saying “all” women belong in women’s sports, after Cunningham spoke out.
