INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham said Wednesday that she wants the focus to return to basketball after her comments on transgender athletes sparked heated national debate, three rallies and social media reaction all the way to the White House.
"I'm going to let people just do the speaking for themselves, but for me, I want to get back to basketball," Cunningham said. "It's always been about basketball. That interview happened in [March]. I just want to make sure that the focus stays where it should because people are playing at such a high level." Addressing reporters Wednesday, a day before Indiana's game against the Las Vegas Aces, Cunningham described the attention following comments she made in a July 21 ESPN article about transgender athletes in women's sports as a "distraction."
"There's so much good going on in the WNBA right now," Cunningham said. "I think that basketball is being played at the highest level it's ever been."
Indiana has won five of its past six games and leads the WNBA in points per game (96.5) and offensive rating (115.6). The Fever have scored 100 or more points in a league-record six straight games. Indiana's Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark rank second and third, respectively, in points per game, just behind the Aces' A'ja Wilson.
"WNBA media, all we ever do is cover everything except basketball," Cunningham said. "And it's like what are we doing?"
Cunningham said in the July ESPN.com feature that a political issue she felt qualified to speak on was how to "protect women's sports," a phrase often used in support of restrictive policy and/or legislation barring transgender girls and women from girls' and women's sports.
"I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I'm like, 'I never once said that,'" she told ESPN in March. "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."
Fever coach Stephanie White, Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve and Golden State coach Natalie Nakase shared opinions favoring more inclusive transgender athlete policy, particularly for younger athletes, in recent days. Seattle Storm center Stefanie Dolson wore a "trans rights are human rights" T-shirt when the Storm played the Fever on July 28. Demonstrations planned by activists sharing Cunningham's viewpoint were held at the Fever's stops in Seattle, Portland and Minnesota. The supporters were joined by protestors at all three stops.
In Minnesota, the crowd booed Cunningham when she entered the game and whenever she touched the ball.
"Honestly, I think people think I'm freaking out or hate that. I love that," Cunningham said Wednesday. "That is sports. That is what rivalries and competitiveness is all about. And so when other people come in and complain about environments, like, I love that. That's what sports is. And so you know it is what it is, and you know I'm here. I'm fine."
Two additional rallies have been announced for Chicago on Saturday and New York on Aug. 22.
"Our team is good. My teammates are good. Our locker room is great," Cunningham said. "And so now we're just here, about to prepare for Las Vegas, and that's where our mind is at."
Twenty-seven states, including Indiana, have passed legislation restricting transgender girls and women from girls' and women's sports. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the laws in two of those states, Idaho and West Virginia. Washington, Oregon, Minnesota, Illinois and New York are among the 21 states that allow transgender girls and women to participate in girls' and women's school sports.
The 2026 collective bargaining agreement signed in March states that "only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA." There is no further definition of a woman or any publicly available policy governing transgender or intersex athlete eligibility. The WNBA has not responded to multiple requests for clarification of the league's policy.