Sophie Cunningham defied The Athletic’s call to drop her

Riley Gaines shared Sophie Cunningham’s defiant answer on Oct. 10 to a column urging the Indiana Fever to let her go in free agency¹. The Fever should not cut a player for defending girls’ sports².

On her No Hesitation podcast, Cunningham said, “I literally don't even care what anyone says about me anymore,” and added, “I know what I bring to the table. It's not always in the stat sheet.”³

That is the right backbone for this fight. A woman’s willingness to defend girls’ competition should not become a reason to push her out of a basketball team. For parents raising daughters to work hard, compete fairly and speak honestly, the principle is straightforward: protecting girls is worth saying out loud, even when the answer is criticism.

“I literally don't even care what anyone says about me anymore,”

The Athletic’s Candace Buckner made that demand in an Oct. 6 column, arguing Indiana should not bring Cunningham back in free agency after attention followed her comments on transgender athletes³. The position Cunningham defended was plain: in a July ESPN profile, she said, “I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn't have to go against biological men.”² A week later, she said she stood by that view and considered it common sense⁴.

Buckner tied the call for Indiana to move on to the attention surrounding Cunningham’s remarks; the consequence would fall on the player who said girls should not have to compete against biological men³. That is the family stake: girls need adults and public figures willing to defend the female category, not pressure to stay silent to keep the peace.

Buckner's verdict was unambiguous: if the Fever want to be a basketball team again, she wrote, "Cunningham has to go." Her stated reason was that Cunningham is "too combustible, her takes too turbulent to be paired with Caitlin Clark." Yet the same column concedes, "There are no trans players in the WNBA⁵." Cunningham, for her part, told ESPN she was accused of hating trans people, denied saying that, and said what she wants is to protect girls⁴. If no one in the league is affected, what is the offense, other than saying it out loud?

The dispute followed Cunningham off the court and into Indiana’s next contract decision. At the University of Missouri’s homecoming game against Florida on Oct. 3, Cunningham wore a cap reading “No Cis, just... Woman” and gestured toward it after the Mizzou Alumni Association introduced her as a Hall of Fame inductee⁶. Sporting News reports that Indiana is one of 27 states that have restricted transgender participation in sports².

Fever general manager Amber Cox said Cunningham’s off-court comments would have no bearing on whether the team tries to re-sign her, and said Indiana looked forward to conversations with her representatives³. The negotiating period opens Feb. 4, putting the team’s stated approach to the test as free agency begins. For families, the issue is whether a woman can say girls deserve fair competition and still be judged by what she brings to her team.

27 states

Buckner’s strongest case was that Cunningham’s public profile distracted from basketball and the Fever’s season³. She argued that Cunningham helped create a “circus” around the team, writing that figures came to games “to be part of a circus, not to enjoy a WNBA game.”

The basketball answer came from Cunningham’s co-host Drew Hanlen, who said she finished as the WNBA’s fourth-leading bench scorer and ranked fourth in effective field-goal percentage³. A team can weigh performance and chemistry without treating a defense of girls’ competition as a disqualification. Cox’s stated approach keeps that distinction intact². Parents should expect the same distinction wherever their daughters play: disagreement is no reason to make fairness unspeakable.

Cunningham’s answer offers parents a lesson worth passing on: defending fairness is not a reason to apologize or disappear. Girls’ teams and sex-based private spaces deserve protection, and daughters should know their parents will stand beside them when they say so.

As that negotiating period begins, the Fever should judge Cunningham on basketball and honor Cox’s assurance, while policymakers should uphold rules preserving girls’ teams².

Sources

1. @Riley_Gaines_ on X, 2026-10-10: Sophie responds to the article from @TheAthletic demanding Fever to drop her "If you're going to live by the praise, you'll die by the hate.....I'm going to continue to do me.....suck it" This is the appropriate response. We should all be more like this. ht, 2026-10-10
2. Fever GM reveals Sophie Cunningham plan amid looming free agency | Sporting News
3. Sophie Cunningham Responds to Column Calling for Fever to Move On
4. ‘Sophie Cunningham has to go’: WNBA analyst does not hold back - Yahoo Sports
5. Fever should part with Sophie Cunningham. She’s too turbulent to be paired with Caitlin Clark
6. Sophie Cunningham's 'Woman' Hat Reignites Anti-Trans Athlete Debate