Sophie Cunningham has spent the past two weeks at the center of one of the WNBA’s biggest storylines, and on Wednesday, she turned her frustration toward the people covering it. Speaking to reporters ahead of Indiana’s game against the Las Vegas Aces, she made clear she wants the conversation to shift.
She did not mince words about where she thinks the coverage has gone wrong.
Sophie Cunningham Blasts WNBA Media
Cunningham addressed the ongoing attention surrounding her comments on transgender athletes in women’s sports, first published in a July 21 ESPN feature, calling the continued focus on the topic a distraction from what actually matters on the court.
Sophie Cunningham: “The WNBA media, all we ever do is cover everything except basketball … You can talk about other things, those are great stories, it shows fans who people outside of the court, but I think we gotta keep the main thing the main thing.”pic.twitter.com/AgVTTfHA43
— Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) August 5, 2026
“WNBA media, all we ever do is cover everything except basketball,” Cunningham said. “And it’s like, what are we doing? The WNBA media, all we ever do is cover everything except basketball. You can talk about other things, those are great stories, it shows fans who people outside of the court, but I think we gotta keep the main thing the main thing.”
Cunningham also pushed back on the idea that her comments had freshly stirred controversy, noting that the remarks originated from an interview conducted back in March, months before the ESPN piece ran in July.
She said she wants to redirect attention to the quality of play across the league, citing the postseason push now underway as evidence that there is plenty happening on the court worth covering.
The comments arrive after weeks of escalating attention on Cunningham, which has included rallies outside three consecutive Fever road games and a viral midcourt exchange with Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve.
Cunningham has stood by her original remarks throughout, while repeatedly expressing frustration with how much attention the story has taken up compared to the basketball being played.
Cunningham has her own podcast and has been an active voice in shaping coverage around herself in the past, a point some critics were quick to raise in response to her latest comments, arguing she cannot ask media members to move on from a topic she herself continues to keep alive through public statements.
Whether the story fades from here or continues to follow the Fever into the postseason remains to be seen, but for now, Cunningham has made clear where she stands on how it has been covered.
