Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham said Wednesday that reporters covering the WNBA have lost sight of the game itself, arguing that weeks of coverage tied to her stance on transgender athletes has crowded out basketball.
“The WNBA media, all we ever do is cover everything except basketball,” Cunningham told reporters at practice. She added that she wants to “keep the main thing the main thing.”
Cunningham has been at the center of a national debate since a July ESPN profile quoted her saying women “shouldn’t have to go against biological men” in sport. She has since stood by the remarks, and the White House weighed in on her behalf last month, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt calling the backlash against her “astonishing.”
Rallies supporting Cunningham followed the Fever to Seattle and Portland, and a third demonstration in Minneapolis drew both her supporters and counterprotesters, according to the Associated Press. Organizers have said two more pro-Cunningham rallies are planned: one Saturday in Chicago as the Fever visit the Sky, and another Aug. 22 in New York against the Liberty.
The tension crested Sunday when Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve wore a shirt reading “Trans Kids Belong” while coaching against Cunningham’s Fever, a game Minnesota won, 108-100. Cunningham said she and Reeve spoke before the game and parted on good terms. “I think a lot of people hide behind screens,” Cunningham said, “and love that type of thing.”
Fever star Caitlin Clark addressed the controversy publicly for the first time after that loss, telling reporters the subject “is not really a discussion we really have in our locker room” and that the team’s focus is on winning games. She cut off a follow-up question, saying only, “I just answered for you.”
Two days earlier, following a win over the Portland Fire, a Fever public relations staffer abruptly ended a press conference after a reporter attempted to ask forward Aliyah Boston and center Makayla Timpson about Cunningham’s comments. Boston thanked reporters and left the podium without addressing the question, and the exchange was cut from the team’s official video of the news conference.
The Fever, who have won five of their past six games, return home to face the defending champion Las Vegas Aces on Thursday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse before traveling to Chicago on Saturday.
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