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The ongoing debate over trans athletes' participation in the sports category of their chosen gender has once again reached the WNBA, as Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham has joined one side of the hot-button issue.
In a wide-ranging profile from ESPN's Hallie Grossman, Cunningham, one of the league's most polarizing and recognized players, spoke on her perceived political beliefs because of "what she looks like and where she's from."
Cunningham seemed to deny she is affiliated with the "MAGA" movement after her "MAGA Barbie" nickname went viral. She recently downplayed the White House specifically using her viral pointing meme in a social media post.
However, this latest controversy stems from Cunningham sharing her support in the ESPN profile for the idea that athletes should participate in the gendered sport of their birth, not the one they choose post-transition.
"She'll weigh in on how to 'protect women's sports,"' she says, because she's in that world and feels qualified to speak to that world," Grossman wrote in her profile.
Cunningham added in the profile, "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.
"I'm very much in the middle [politically]. I agree with things on both sides, disagree with things on both sides. And that's all I've ever said about my political beliefs. But people love to assume."
Her stance on trans athletes and where they should compete is widely shared by those in both the MAGA movement and the traditional conservative moment, but also with possible 2028 Democratic presidential frontrunner Gavin Newsom. Indiana, the state where Cunningham plays professional athletics, has a transgender athlete ban for scholastic and collegiate competitions, one upheld by the Supreme Court in late June. The NCAA, the primary collegiate athletic governing body in the country, also holds a transgender athlete ban in women's athletics. NCAA President Charlie Baker estimated there were "less than 10" trans athletes at that college level in late 2024.
A trans athlete born a male at birth has never played in the WNBA, but former WNBA player Layshia Clarendon became the first athlete in the league's history to come out as transgender and non-binary in 2020. The WNBA's recently adopted CBA states that "only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA," but the rule does not explicitly exclude trans athletes who identify as women from participating in the league. The WNBA's players association has advocated legally for the issue in the past and issued a statement in support of trans athletes participating in the sport of their chosen gender in 2022.
"Banning trans kids from sports ostracizes them from a fundamental part of growing up and a lifeline to feel welcome and a part of their community," the statement read.
Las Vegas Aces forward Brianna Turner, Cunningham's former Phoenix Mercury and Fever teammate, wrote an op-ed for USA TODAY on the issue earlier this year after the International Olympic Committee banned trans athletes from competing in the field of their chosen gender.
"Focusing on who should be allowed to call themselves a woman distracts from the structural inequities that actually limit women’s opportunities," Turner wrote in the piece.
Cunningham's comments come at a time where her team has become increasingly politicized over the perceived negative treatment of guard Caitlin Clark. A recent Republican-backed congressional letter railed against what it felt was unfair treatment of Clark in the WNBA, but Clark and the organization distanced themselves from the effort. Clark has been vocal against the harassment players receive off the court, stemming largely from WNBA culture wars.
The Fever organization has not commented on Cunningham's comments at the time of publication.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Sophie Cunningham sparks controversy with trans athletes stance
Continue reading...
In a wide-ranging profile from ESPN's Hallie Grossman, Cunningham, one of the league's most polarizing and recognized players, spoke on her perceived political beliefs because of "what she looks like and where she's from."
Cunningham seemed to deny she is affiliated with the "MAGA" movement after her "MAGA Barbie" nickname went viral. She recently downplayed the White House specifically using her viral pointing meme in a social media post.
However, this latest controversy stems from Cunningham sharing her support in the ESPN profile for the idea that athletes should participate in the gendered sport of their birth, not the one they choose post-transition.
"She'll weigh in on how to 'protect women's sports,"' she says, because she's in that world and feels qualified to speak to that world," Grossman wrote in her profile.
Cunningham added in the profile, "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.
"I'm very much in the middle [politically]. I agree with things on both sides, disagree with things on both sides. And that's all I've ever said about my political beliefs. But people love to assume."
WNBA context on the issue
Her stance on trans athletes and where they should compete is widely shared by those in both the MAGA movement and the traditional conservative moment, but also with possible 2028 Democratic presidential frontrunner Gavin Newsom. Indiana, the state where Cunningham plays professional athletics, has a transgender athlete ban for scholastic and collegiate competitions, one upheld by the Supreme Court in late June. The NCAA, the primary collegiate athletic governing body in the country, also holds a transgender athlete ban in women's athletics. NCAA President Charlie Baker estimated there were "less than 10" trans athletes at that college level in late 2024.
A trans athlete born a male at birth has never played in the WNBA, but former WNBA player Layshia Clarendon became the first athlete in the league's history to come out as transgender and non-binary in 2020. The WNBA's recently adopted CBA states that "only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA," but the rule does not explicitly exclude trans athletes who identify as women from participating in the league. The WNBA's players association has advocated legally for the issue in the past and issued a statement in support of trans athletes participating in the sport of their chosen gender in 2022.
"Banning trans kids from sports ostracizes them from a fundamental part of growing up and a lifeline to feel welcome and a part of their community," the statement read.
Former Cunningham teammate spoke out on issue earlier this year
Las Vegas Aces forward Brianna Turner, Cunningham's former Phoenix Mercury and Fever teammate, wrote an op-ed for USA TODAY on the issue earlier this year after the International Olympic Committee banned trans athletes from competing in the field of their chosen gender.
"Focusing on who should be allowed to call themselves a woman distracts from the structural inequities that actually limit women’s opportunities," Turner wrote in the piece.
Cunningham's comments come at a time where her team has become increasingly politicized over the perceived negative treatment of guard Caitlin Clark. A recent Republican-backed congressional letter railed against what it felt was unfair treatment of Clark in the WNBA, but Clark and the organization distanced themselves from the effort. Clark has been vocal against the harassment players receive off the court, stemming largely from WNBA culture wars.
Have the Fever commented on this?
The Fever organization has not commented on Cunningham's comments at the time of publication.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Sophie Cunningham sparks controversy with trans athletes stance
Continue reading...
