Sophie Cunningham has turned heads this past month after revealing she doesn’t agree with the WNBA being open to trans women participating in it. This has led many conservative figureheads across the United States to back her stance.
Alabama senator Tommy Tuberville took to his social media to express his affection for Sophie after her display of patriotism during the Indiana Fever’s most recent game against the Atlanta Dream.
Senator Tuberville Sings Sophie Cunningham’s Praise After Her Showcase of Patriotism
As the national anthem played during Fever-Dream, Cunningham was caught with her hand on her chest. She was seemingly the only Fever player who indulged in this gesture, as the rest of the roster had their arms to the side.
The Atlanta Dream roster decided to skip out on the national anthem on this night altogether. This led Senator Tuberville to praise Sophie for the respect she showed the national anthem, as he quote-tweeted the video and said, “Sophie Cunningham is a true PATRIOT.”
.@sophaller is a true PATRIOT 🇺🇸 https://t.co/pN8vui2cHT
— Coach Tommy Tuberville (@SenTuberville) August 18, 2026
This isn’t his first time entering WNBA discourse.
Following the controversy of two women nearly being kicked out of the Dream game for wearing ‘For The Girls’ t-shirts from the brand ‘XX-XY Athletics’, he took to his socials and said, “The WNBA continues to stand AGAINST women. And every single Democrat is SILENT.”
This is also not the first time that gestures during a national anthem have caused controversy.
Victor Wembanyama famously crossed his arms during the anthem in Game 1 of the NBA Finals. This sparked a nationwide debate about whether foreign-born players need to respect the soil they stand on, with arguments from both sides.
A large portion of political discourse in the WNBA stems from Sophie’s views. However, Cunningham has never publicly disclosed her political affiliations. Last year, she told the New York Times that she’s “right in the middle.”
She would go on to say, “In our culture today, you have to choose, and you have to be an extremist, and that’s just not me. So, I agree with things on both sides; I disagree with things on both sides.”
Some of the WNBA’s superstars have shared their views on their league being overrun with questions about their politics as individuals.
Sophie’s Fever teammate, Caitlin Clark, recently said, “I think first and foremost, like you know, you speak when you feel like you want to speak. I try to just show up and be myself every single day.”
The league’s brightest stars have refrained from sharing their political beliefs as they want their basketball to be the focal point of discussion.
