In recent years, WNBA viewership has grown. This is due in large part to Caitlin Clark, a point guard for the Indiana Fever. Clark was a standout player for the Iowa Hawkeyes in college. Her popularity has helped the league. Controversy and fighting have also helped keep the WNBA in the spotlight. But far more important than positive headlines or ratings is standing up for what’s right.
Thank goodness for Sophie Cunningham.
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In an interview published toward the end of July, the Indiana Fever athlete talked about protecting young girls from biological men in their locker rooms and on sports fields. Her comments were not hateful in the slightest. In fact, she even said, “I think that I am here to extend love. But I also think with that love is truth, being honest.”
Personally, I’m not a WNBA fan, but Cunningham’s unapologetic attitude toward protecting and defending biological women has me applauding. A sports league set aside just for females should stay that way. It’s mind-blowing that Cunningham is being criticized in the first place.
Feminism, in its infancy, was about basic rights for women. It wasn’t long before it evolved to include gender wars, special privileges, and hatred of men. Now, its latest iteration despises masculinity while also inviting transgenderism into the fold. An entire movement dedicated to combating misogyny is quick to do the most sexist thing ever: allow men to call themselves women without consequence. Leftists who are too full of cowardice and eager to appease a militant minority will never oppose it. As acceptance of transgenderism spreads through culture, those who prize biological reality are called bigots for merely stating verifiable facts.
To some, Cunningham should stay in her lane, play her sport, and keep her mouth shut. But Cunningham inhabits a unique, rather lonely role. Her talent has afforded her a platform few people will ever have. Instead of cowering and succumbing to pressure, she has chosen to speak the truth. The WNBA, by its very nature, is a pro-woman organization. If any group should be vocal in its support, it’s the one established specifically for women.
The contradiction between modern feminism and harsh censure when a woman dares to suggest protecting biological girlhood is stark. On one hand, 2026 culture generally preaches female empowerment and pushing back against male domination, inside and outside the home. At the same time, there’s an obvious swell of support for transgenderism, especially when it concerns biological males cosplaying as females. If women dare to speak up against the creeping encroachment, they’re reprimanded. It’s a whole new brand of feminist rhetoric, this time with confused men allowed to join in. Given enough time, leftism eats itself.
If anything, Cunningham’s very public experience should remind us how isolated we can be when standing against powerful cultural forces. Those who prize feminism should, in theory, be in Cunningham’s corner. But they largely are not. Those of us who do believe that girls and women should be protected from the misogyny of transgenderism don’t have sports, media, entertainment, healthcare, or education on our side. As Cunningham shows in real time, this should not dissuade us.
Cunningham is not a random woman in any career field. She is a female basketball player in a 30-year-old league dedicated to women. It exists to counter the male-only league. For years, the WNBA has struggled with viewership and funding. It doesn’t draw people in like the NBA. The WNBA should be using this opportunity to reinforce that biological women deserve protection. The fact that it is not is further proof that societal peer pressure has too much sway, and courage is in short supply.
RESTORING AMERICA: SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM IS A ROLE MODEL — AND NOT JUST FOR WOMEN
It doesn’t really matter whether Americans choose to tune in to the WNBA. The increased attention on the league is probably short-lived and mostly due to star players and controversies anyway. The entire saga should wake people up. It is the final breach. A female athlete who plays for the Women’s National Basketball Association is condemned for vocally safeguarding biological femininity.
Sophie Cunningham is a role model.