Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham defended Denver Nuggets forward Michael Porter Jr. this week after his comments about boys competing against WNBA players drew heavy criticism. 

Porter, who grew up in Missouri and later attended the University of Missouri, said on a recent podcast that a team of elite eighth-grade boys could defeat WNBA All-Stars. 

Cunningham, who starred at the University of Missouri, said the basic point Porter made was accurate because biological differences shape athletic performance. 

Porter mentioned scrimmaging against Cunningham’s Missouri team when he was “in the 7th or 8th grade, going crazy.” 

Lonzo Ball agreed on the same show and said, “9th-grade Lonzo Ball in the WNBA is going crazy.” 

Many social media users attacked the comments. Cunningham pushed back against the outrage Nov. 20 during her Show Me Something podcast. She said she understood the reaction but believed the conversation had drifted away from basic facts. 

“This is my personal opinion. But if you are a professional football player, basketball player, really any sport … if you’re in that elite level group, yeah, you should be able to beat the girls,” she said. 

She added she was not surprised and did not see why the issue kept resurfacing. 

Cunningham also said women should not deny the physical differences between male and female athletes. 

“If women are saying, ‘He couldn’t beat them,’ yeah, he could. Any NBA star could beat a female in high school,” she said. “I don’t want to be unrealistic or delusional. Like, men are just stronger, bigger, athletic. They just are a different build. So if you put them up against females, yeah, they’re gonna win.” 

When she learned Porter was referring to eighth-grade boys, she still backed him, though she said he meant only boys with elite potential. 

“The context of it is fair,” she said. She explained eighth-graders who are “future pros” are often already tall and strong enough to compete. 

“So I would say that that’s probably true,” she said. “It’s probably true!” 

Cunningham stressed she was not insulting female athletes. She said she was acknowledging reality. 

“I just don’t think that’s a fair matchup,” she said. 

She later said Porter had been “click-baited” and taken out of context, describing the controversy as exaggerated. 

The conversation comes as many public institutions continue to treat biological distinctions as controversial, even when athletes speak plainly on the issue.