The Indiana Fever have been dealing with controversy all season for stories that have little to do with WNBA basketball. Sophie Cunningham has become a lightning rod for political discussions about things outside of basketball. The Fever star targeting trans athletes with criticism over non-biological women taking place in female sports. Both rallies in her name and protests against her have seen controversy growing.
Cunningham revealed to USA Today that she doesn’t plan to stop using her platform for topics outside of basketball:
“People are like, ‘You have a platform. Use it,’ and then once you use it, it’s like, ‘Go back to playing basketball.’ I think the reason why I stated that is because you go into (the) media, and it’s not anything even about basketball. I think I could do both.
Ask me about what’s going on and what I said. And also ask me how great my teammates are doing, how great our team is doing, (and) how great the league is doing. We can be a great example of how to do both.”
Cunningham claimed that she feels some hypocritical behavior from those who want athletes to use their platform and dislike it when they oppose the message. Regardless of beliefs, the story has turned into more than basketball to follow the team. Cunningham is not planning to stop as the Fever and Caitlin Clark prepare for a hopefully deep playoff run.
Indiana Fever Playing With Fire This Season
Indiana deserves credit for playing high level basketball against all the drama going on. Right wing politicians have started rallying behind Clark and Cunningham, while often going against other players with topics like race and sexuality becoming part of the topic.
Various players have discussed dealing with bigotry in the aftermath of this since new fans without the purest intentions after making their voices known on social media. Fever head coach Stephanie White has tried to get past this, but the controversy remains.
More political involvement will just create more concern for the league and team. Indiana could have to focus on a playoff run during the deepest WNBA league in many years. The big three of Clark, Aliyah Boston, and Kelsey Mitchell must win, even with protests and rallies following them.
Sophie Cunningham May Still Go Silent
Recent weeks have seen Cunningham speaking less about things outside of basketball. Cunningham has distanced herself from controversial quotes and often tries to stay silent when asked about bigger topics.
Political debates about trans athletes in sports is not something that the Fever want to have follow them in a pressure packed season. Clark will be entering her first WNBA postseason since she got hurt last year and didn’t make the playoffs during her rookie season.
Don’t expect Cunningham to go all in on the political talk before the postseason starts. The polarizing player does seem to enjoy the coverage she gets from supporters over her words. Cunningham is more likely to speak on personal beliefs and enter the political discourse world in the offseason after the WNBA season ends.
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