With 3.6 million followers on TikTok, Sophie Cunningham‘s presence has stretched far beyond the basketball court this season, and now, being associated with her is turning out to be a massive boost for a company. After a season ripe with debates around her opinion and the on-court altercation with Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington, Cunningham’s association has reportedly given an apparel brand an unprecedented increase in sales.

As per a report by Front Office Sports, XX-XY Athletics has seen a sixfold growth in its sales over the last two weeks, which the company attributes to the association with Sophie Cunningham. In other words, for the amount of sales the brand recorded before the surge, it generated five additional amounts on top of that original figure. That implies the increased to a 500% growth rate.

The report also mentions that the company is on track to have its best sales month ever in August. The timing of the announcement via Front Office Sports is notable. The report appeared after Cunningham was very vocal about her opinions of transgender athletes in women’s sports.

It all began after the brand positioned itself with Cunningham’s stance on trans athletes in women’s sports. On August 2, the day the Fever played the Minnesota Lynx, XX-YX founder Jennifer Sey, along with conservative activist Riley Gaines, posed with Cunningham while wearing the brand’s shirts. The image was posted to their Instagram and the momentum from that association has caused a growth in their sales. Both Sey and Gaines have spoken out against including trans women in women’s sports. Gaines, prior to her career as an activist, was a professional swimmer, with four SEC medals to her name.

After making comments about trans athletes in an ESPN profile released on July 21, Cunningham sparked a national debate on the topic. Her comments generated both support and criticism and have caused fans to organize rallies before Fever games. Another rally is set to take place ahead of the team’s game against the New York Liberty on August 22, per Fox News’ Jackson Thompson on X.

According to the report from Front Office Sports, 85% of purchases from XX-XY Athletics were from first-time customers since Cunningham’s connection to the brand. It is interesting to note that Sey is a retired athletic gymnast who is also a published author of a book titled ‘Levi’s Unbuttoned: The Woke Mob Took My Job But Gave Me My Voice‘. Her brand, XX-YY Athletics, reportedly promotes the message of “being brave, telling the truth, and protecting women’s sports,” per Fashion United.

The apparel brand now boasts an Instagram following of 124k followers, with the image of Sey, Gaines, and Cunningham having over 110 comments. Their latest post is a video compilation of young girls thanking Cunningham for taking a stand against transgender athletes.

On July 28, during the Fever’s game against the Seattle Storm, two supporters of Cunningham’s comments were involved in a verbal altercation with Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton. These two supporters were also wearing XX-YX clothing as per the FOS report. The altercation led to Keaton being suspended from five of the team’s home games and being fined an undisclosed amount.

These instances generated significant growth for the brand, with FOS reporting that Google searches for XX-XY Athletics were up by more than 5,000% over the last month.

Now, with Cunningham’s growing influence clearly visible through statistics, XX-YY Athletics is able to reach a much larger audience for their merchandise. The guard is a lightning rod for a cultural debate, and the association with her was integral to the company’s recent growth spurt.