{"id":844455,"date":"2026-09-11T19:32:25","date_gmt":"2026-09-11T19:32:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/844455\/"},"modified":"2026-09-11T19:32:25","modified_gmt":"2026-09-11T19:32:25","slug":"sophie-cunningham-addresses-perception-that-she-is-the-sex-symbol-of-the-wnba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/844455\/","title":{"rendered":"Sophie Cunningham addresses perception that she is the &#8216;sex symbol&#8217; of the WNBA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\">The usual suspects say that <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_outkick-sports_article_main-content_article-body_6_6417631\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/outkick-sports\/sophie-cunningham-opposite-most-wnba-players-megastar-bobby-burack\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Sophie Cunningham<\/a>, a role player, is more popular than some of the WNBA\u2019s best players because of &#8220;white privilege.&#8221; But that is not true.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\">Since Caitlin Clark\u2019s rookie season, several <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_outkick-sports_article_main-content_article-body_6_6417632\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/sports\/wnba\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">WNBA<\/a> players have used the increased spotlight to exhibit bratty behavior, entitlement, and racial hysteria. By contrast, Cunningham has embraced the moment. She\u2019s entertaining, humorous, resilient, and gorgeous.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Colin Cowherd interviewed Cunningham this week on his Volume podcast network, of which she is a part, and noticed a difference between her and the many other athletes he has interviewed.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_outkick-sports_article_main-content_article-body_6_6417633\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/outkick-sports\/mina-kimes-thinks-perception-dianna-russini-mike-vrabel-scandal-unfair-women\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">MINA KIMES THINKS PERCEPTION OF DIANNA RUSSINI-MIKE VRABEL SCANDAL IS UNFAIR TO WOMEN<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;Just did a pod w @sophaller Never had a pod with an athlete that was this honest and authentic. Totally refreshing. I\u2019ll release it tonight,&#8221; Cowherd posted on X.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Cunningham is real. She\u2019s likable.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">She also doesn\u2019t cave to the pressure from the vultures of American culture who have determined that attractive white women should be ashamed of their looks. She\u2019s like <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_outkick-sports_article_main-content_article-body_6_6417634\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/person\/sydney-sweeney\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Sydney Sweeney<\/a> in that way.<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/sophie-cunningham-fever-scotiabank-arena.jpg\" alt=\"Sophie Cunningham of the Indiana Fever arrives at Scotiabank Arena.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Sophie Cunningham of the Indiana Fever arrives at Scotiabank Arena ahead of a WNBA game against the Toronto Tempo on Aug. 18, 2026, in Toronto, Canada. (Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;You are kind of viewed as the leagues\u2026ummm,&#8221; Cowherd hesitated.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;Just say it,&#8221; Cunningham interrupted.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;Sex symbol,&#8221; he responded.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;That is way better, I thought you were gonna go somewhere completely different,&#8221; she joked.<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/sophie-cunningham-blocked-shot-fever.jpg\" alt=\"Sophie Cunningham celebrates a blocked shot during an Indiana Fever game against New York Liberty.\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham celebrates a blocked shot in the second half against the New York Liberty at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind., on Aug. 11, 2026. (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_outkick-sports_article_main-content_article-body_6_6417635\" href=\"https:\/\/link.podtrac.com\/ccs_article\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">THE CRAIG CARTON SHOW\u2013UNFILTERED, UNAPOLOGETIC AND UNMISSABLE. DOWNLOAD HIS DAILY PODCAST NOW!<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Contrast Cunningham\u2019s response with <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_outkick-sports_article_main-content_article-body_6_6417636\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/person\/angel-reese\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">Angel Reese\u2019s<\/a>. Last month, Reese called herself &#8220;beautiful&#8221; multiple times and bragged that she looks good in a bikini. She then accused internet users of &#8220;sexualizing&#8221; her in the comments beneath those photos.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Many WNBA players want to be seen as sex symbols but then complain about the perception of such. Cunningham, meanwhile, has no issue with the narrative.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Nor should she.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;For me, the reason why I really lean into that is, first of all, I&#8217;ve always been super girly. Since a little girl, I&#8217;ve always loved to dress up. I love dresses. I love high heels. I love all of that,&#8221; Cunningham explained.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;For some reason, our society, if you play basketball, you can&#8217;t dress that way, or you can&#8217;t be girly. No one&#8217;s ever said it, but it&#8217;s like, they kind of feel that you can&#8217;t be both. Screw all that. Yes, you can. You can be girly, and you can go out and kick someone&#8217;s ass.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">She\u2019s right.<\/p>\n<p> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/fever-sophie-cunningham-001.jpg\" alt=\"Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham plays\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/> <\/p>\n<p>Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) plays against the Phoenix Mercury during a WNBA game at PHX Arena in Phoenix, Arizona, on Aug. 7, 2025. (Mark J. Rebilas\/Imagn Images)<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_outkick-sports_article_main-content_article-body_6_6417637\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/outkick-sports\/wnba-silence-dijonai-carrington-white-privilege-post-exposes-sandy-brondello-double-standard\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">WNBA SILENCE ON DIJONAI CARRINGTON&#8217;S &#8216;WHITE PRIVILEGE&#8217; POST EXPOSES SANDY BRONDELLO DOUBLE STANDARD<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">The DiJonai Carringtons and Jemele Hill types want to reduce Cunningham\u2019s popularity down to her skin color. Of course they do. It\u2019s their only card.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">In reality, Cunningham is the type of woman Americans would embrace regardless of her skin color. She\u2019s a smoking-hot badass who protects her teammates and trolls the media elite.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&amp;af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&amp;af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">The WNBA would be much better off if its other players learned from Cunningham, instead of trying to clothesline her.<\/p>\n<p>Bobby Burack is a writer for OutKick.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The usual suspects say that Sophie Cunningham, a role player, is more popular than some of the WNBA\u2019s&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":844456,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[2839,259870,99,434],"class_list":["post-844455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-indiana-fever","tag-outkick-sports","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844455","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=844455"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/844455\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/844456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=844455"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=844455"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=844455"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}