{"id":813145,"date":"2026-08-14T07:42:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T07:42:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/813145\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T07:42:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T07:42:09","slug":"crossroads-podcast-the-missing-faith-angle-in-the-wnbas-culture-war-controversy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/813145\/","title":{"rendered":"Crossroads Podcast: The Missing Faith Angle In The WNBA\u2019s Culture War Controversy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Consider this language from ESPN, while addressing current debates about whether players with male DNA should be eligible to play in all forms of women\u2019s athletics, include basketball. Look for the key word in this sentence<\/a>: \u201c\u2026 [Cunningham] also insists that none of this is some Rosetta Stone to unlocking the true nature of her political worldview.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yes, the hoops star had used the word \u201cpolitical\u201d when insisting that she didn\u2019t want to be pulled into left-right political debates. The question is whether, in reality, the roots of her convictions may not be political, at all.<\/p>\n

Writing at Religion Unplugged, journalist Clemente Lisi (a friend and academic colleague) connected some important dots in a feature with this headline: \u201cWNBA Star Sophie Cunningham\u2019s Faith Bigger Than The Culture War.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to let people just do the speaking for themselves, but for me, I want to get back to basketball,\u201d Cunningham told reporters<\/a> on Aug. 6. \u201cIt\u2019s always been about basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n

That sounds like an athlete trying to escape controversy. Maybe it is. But it also reflects something deeper. For Cunningham, whose Christian faith has long been part of her public identity<\/a>, basketball has never been just about winning political arguments. It has been about purpose.<\/p>\n

The WNBA increasingly finds itself pulled into America\u2019s culture wars. Every major social issue eventually seems to arrive on the league\u2019s doorstep. Whether it is race, LGBTQ issues or transgender participation in sports, players and coaches are expected to take sides.<\/p>\n

Near the end of the feature, Lisi offered this commentary:<\/p>\n

Faith offers an interesting perspective here because Christianity has always distinguished between conviction and conflict.<\/p>\n

Jesus never instructed His followers to avoid difficult issues. Neither did He encourage them to seek controversy for its own sake. Paul, for example, wrote that Christians should \u201cspeak the truth in love\u201d (Ephesians 4:15<\/a>). Those two concepts \u2014 truth and love \u2014 are often separated in modern debates. One side emphasizes compassion; the other. The Bible insists both belong together.<\/p>\n

That is how Cunningham framed her original comments. She rejected accusations that she hates transgender people, insisting instead that her concern centers on protecting women\u2019s sports while extending love to everyone involved.<\/p>\n

I will end with one other interesting piece of Cunningham material, care of Basketball Network<\/a>. The headline: \u201c\u2018I want someone to lead our house\u2019 \u2014 Sophie Cunningham opens up about what she wants in a husband.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

After years of speculation about her private life, including social-media whispers that she might be a lesbian, Cunningham openly stated her goals for marriage and family, while explicitly linking them to her faith.<\/p>\n

Why didn\u2019t these eyebrow-raising comments draw media attention? This small-media feature noted:<\/p>\n

Aside from her preference for dating a taller guy<\/a>, she also hopes to end up with someone who will take charge of the family<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not shy about this at all,\u201d Cunningham responded after confirming she is single and in response to the question of what the perfect man looks like for her. \u201cI grew up in Missouri. Missouri was like the No. 3 party school. \u2026 Yeah, I went through the huge party stage. I\u2019ve been with guys. But now that I\u2019m actually where I\u2019m at now today, my No. 1 thing is I want someone to push me towards Christ.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then there was this next quotation, offering a perspective that \u2014 if debated on cable-television talk fests \u2014 might be more controversial than Cunningham\u2019s statements on gender and sports.<\/p>\n

Speaking as if she was addressing a potential husband, she added:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re not about it, and you don\u2019t talk about it, then don\u2019t even talk to me. I have my blinders on. I still have a bunch of guy friends. I\u2019m open to ideas and whatnot. But my No. 1 thing is I want you to lead our house, lead me, lead our future kids to serve and love a good, good God. \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Truth is, that\u2019s church talk. Pure and simple.<\/p>\n

Enjoy the podcast and, please pass it along to others.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Consider this language from ESPN, while addressing current debates about whether players with male DNA should be eligible…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":813146,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[99,434],"class_list":["post-813145","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813145","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=813145"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/813145\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/813146"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=813145"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=813145"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=813145"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}