Sophie Cunningham, a player for the Indiana Fever, says she’s unconcerned that the rallies against transgender participation in women’s sports that have accompanied the team’s recent games are a distraction for the WNBA team.
Recent Games and Rallies
Cunningham made the comments before the Fever’s game against the Portland Fire. Outside, a group rallied for the second straight game in support of Cunningham and her recent comments about transgender athletes.
“I think at the end of the day, I come in and I do my job,” Cunningham said. “I think everyone who knows me personally, they know that I’m full of love. I’m bubbly. I love the people around me. I love basketball. I love inspiring the next generation and doing that in a positive light. And so that doesn’t even cross my mind. Doesn’t cross my teammates’ minds.
Another rally was planned for Sunday in Minneapolis when the Fever play the Minnesota Lynx. The rallies promoted a statewide ballot initiative that would bar transgender students from participating in girls’ athletics at Washington schools.
Team’s Response
Coach Stephanie White said she was concerned that the controversy was distracting from the team’s play. “You know there is a frustration, of course, because we want to talk about basketball and we want to continue to work on our game and we want to continue to grow as a team.,” White said.
Original reporting: KSAT Sports (San Antonio) — read the source article.