{"id":780517,"date":"2026-07-23T20:40:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T20:40:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/780517\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T20:40:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T20:40:13","slug":"sophie-cunningham-biological-men-dont-belong-in-womens-sports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/780517\/","title":{"rendered":"Sophie Cunningham: ‘Biological men’ don’t belong in women’s sports"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham<\/a> stands by her comments about transgender athletes competing: She says she just \u2018wants to protect\u2019 women\u2019s sports.<\/p>\n

Despite her views that were expressed in an ESPN article<\/a> published Tuesday, Cunningham insisted the next day that she doesn\u2019t have anything against the transgender community.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I\u2019m like, \u2018I never once said that,\u2019\u201d Cunningham said in the article. \u201cI 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\u2019t have to go against biological men.\u201d <\/p>\n

The article became fodder for questions Wednesday before the Fever\u2019s 123-88 victory against the Connecticut Sun.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s kind of common sense,\u201d Cunningham told reporters<\/a>. \u201cAnd I think I\u2019ll always believe in that. I think it\u2019s really important to protect children, and that\u2019s little girls who are also involved in that category. And so I\u2019ll stand on what I said, and I\u2019ll always believe that.\u201d<\/p>\n

She reiterated that her feelings on the matter don\u2019t stem from hatred.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think there is room for absolutely everyone here, and I think there is room to love everyone,\u201d Cunningham said. I truly think when you get people in the same room and you have conversations, you actually have a lot in common with a lot of people. And so I\u2019m there to love.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019m also there to love biological women, and I think that there are rights that need to be protected. And, like I said, I\u2019m gonna stand true to that. I\u2019ll never falter in my beliefs in that. But I have never once said that I hated the trans community. Like I said, I think there\u2019s space for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cunningham appeared to triple down on her comments Thursday morning on Instagram<\/a>, writing simply, \u201cI said what I said.\u201d<\/p>\n

The topic of transgender athletes participating in women\u2019s sports has become a polarizing issue in recent years. In February 2025, President Trump signed an executive order<\/a>, \u201cKeeping Men Out of Women\u2019s Sports,\u201d that looked to ensure that entities receiving federal funding abide by Title IX in alignment with the administration\u2019s view that a person\u2019s sex is the gender they were assigned at birth.<\/p>\n

Last month, the Supreme Court upheld laws<\/a> in West Virginia and Idaho that banned transgender athletes from competing on girls\u2019 sports teams. Days later, two transgender girls who were the first to challenge Trump\u2019s executive order dropped their lawsuit<\/a> in New Hampshire.<\/p>\n

\u201cMen should not be playing in women\u2019s sports. It\u2019s completely ludicrous that anyone could support that,\u201d White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters<\/a> Thursday. \u201cIt\u2019s even more ludicrous that you do have Sophia Cunningham \u2014 a female athlete herself, very accomplished in her own right \u2014 coming forth and speaking that truth that men shouldn\u2019t play in women\u2019s sports, we want to protect women and girls, and the backlash she is receiving from Democrats and left-wing figures across the country is astonishing.\u201d<\/p>\n

The league\u2019s collective bargaining agreement states that \u201conly players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA,\u201d but does not specifically exclude transgender women. When reached for comment, a WNBA representative referred The Times to a statement<\/a> released by the Fever on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur players are thoughtful adults with their own perspectives and voices, and those views are their own,\u201d the team said. \u201cWe are committed to welcoming fans from every background and treating everyone with respect, and that\u2019s what guides us as an organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cunningham has been called \u201cMAGA Barbie\u201d since her college days at Missouri, according to Complex<\/a>, because some of the people she follows and engagement with conservatives on social media. <\/p>\n

In 2022, when Pennsylvania swimmer Lia Thomas became the first transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I national championship, Cunningham reposted a since-deleted tweet stating that \u201cfemale collegiate athletes deserve so much better than this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Soon after, Cunningham posted a statement saying that she stands \u201cwith all people, especially my fellow athletes.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI do not judge, but support all races, religions, sexual preferences and gender equity,\u201d she wrote<\/a>. \u201cWe all have a place in this world to compete and I hope we are able to grant everyone that opportunity fairly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even with a seeming endorsement from the White House and a nickname that\u2019s followed her, Cunningham says her political views are \u201cvery much in the middle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI agree with things on both sides, disagree with things on both sides,\u201d she said in the ESPN article. \u201cAnd that\u2019s all I\u2019ve ever said about my political beliefs. But people love to assume.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, Cunningham went into more detail, telling reporters \u201cI\u2019m not a very political person.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cBut I do have beliefs, I have morals, and I\u2019ll always stand on those and be true to who I am,\u201d she added. \u201c… And so when it comes to just protecting young girls in sport and women in sport, I feel very strongly about that.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why you have Title IX. That\u2019s why you have some of the greats in women\u2019s sports. If Title IX and women\u2019s sports weren\u2019t protected, then you wouldn\u2019t hear about any type of women in sport.\u201d<\/p>\n