The controversy surrounding Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham’s comments on transgender athletes participating in sports isn’t going away. In an ESPN profile published on July 21, Cunningham said, “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.”
A few days after the profile, Cunningham doubled down to local media.
“I said what I said. I think it’s kind of common sense,” she said. “And I think I’ll always believe in that. I think it’s really important to protect children, and that’s little girls who are also involved in that category. I stand on what I said.”
Her stance has led to just about everyone imaginable weighing in, including the White House. On Saturday, a day before facing the Fever and Cunningham, Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve gave an “incredibly thoughtful” take on the situation.
“I come from a space of inclusion, Reeve said. “And the narrative that I think that is problematic is to suggest that, uh, number one, that transgender athletes are the biggest problem in women’s sports. And I think this is what’s bothersome, is that there’s a faction of people in our country that are making this a massive issue.”
She added, “Now, what gets nuanced is, you know, when you’re beyond puberty, when you’re in Olympic sport, when you’re— we have scholarships at stake and that sort of thing. That’s where I say that common sense people get together, and you find common ground to find a way to be inclusive.”
Dave Portnoy doesn’t disagree
It’s a take that Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy reiterated on Monday’s episode of Wake Up Barstool.
“It seems like such a small percentage of people,” Portnoy said of transgender athletes. “I don’t know how this story is so big and why people are so adamant both ways.”
.@stoolpresidente’s take on everything going on with Sophie Cunningham and the Indiana Fever pic.twitter.com/SfqTCdsFks
— Wake Up Barstool (@wakeupbarstool) August 3, 2026
Portnoy also said that he wants inclusion for everyone, but there are cases where it could be unfair.
“I’m all for inclusion,” he said. “If I have a daughter, and she’s playing, whether it’s high school athletics, college athletics, and you have a trans athlete who is clearly dominating, beyond the normal level… that is unfair.”
He continued, “I’m for inclusion, but I also want fairness in sports.”
Ultimately, this is still a non-issue, with there being no transgender athletes in the WNBA, and NCAA President Charlie Baker saying in 2024 that there were fewer than 10 competing in college sports. However, the league’s leaders should be proactive in working toward a solution that is both fair and inclusive, so that this story can finally be put to bed.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.