Indiana Fever’s Sophie Cunningham has become a focal point of controversy ever since she spoke about not being willing to accept trans athletes competing in women’s sports in a July 21 ESPN report. Following that statement, Cunningham’s stance has divided the WNBA fanbase in two, with voices within and outside the community giving their takes, and even prompting rallies and counter-protests at three Fever games. Now, according to the latest claim, all this controversy surrounding Cunningham has led to her name reportedly getting banned on Reddit.

In light of the incident, the WNBA themselves have had to step in to quiet the noise and respond that the league had no role in banning the Fever guard’s name from the r/WNBA subreddit, as per USA Today’s senior WNBA reporter, Meghan L. Hall.

“News has been circulating that Sophie Cunningham’s name or mention of her has been banned from the r/WNBA subreddit. A WNBA spokesperson told USA TODAY the following in a statement: ‘The WNBA does not moderate or have any affiliation with the r/WNBA subreddit,'” Hall wrote on X.

News of the Reddit ban started to circulate on Sunday. A user named @Adventurous_Hope_101 shared a screenshot from the r/WNBA confirming the reported banning of the words: “Cunningham,” “Sophie,” “sc,” “scunningham,” “soph,” or “sophiacunningham.”

When he asked the subreddit moderators for the reason behind the ban, they cited questionable online behaviour as one of the reasons.

“We filter content based on Sophi because it tends to bring out trolls and people that aren’t fans of the W,” the moderating account responded. It also added that fans could use other subs if they wanted to talk about Cunningham.

“These moderation tools are applied to protect the community and are not being used to ban Sophie Cunningham content. Thank you for helping us keep r/wnba focused, respectful, and enjoyable for basketball fans.”

Then again, it’s not like the r/WNBA statement doesn’t hold any ground. Online harassment on social media through comments and messages took center stage in late June, after a play involving Phoenix Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas and Sophie Cunningham’s teammate Caitlin Clark.

Thomas faced extreme backlash and threats on social media after the officials initially missed out on calling a foul on Thomas despite her making hard contact with Clark’s throat. The backlash came despite the league later upgrading the foul to a Flagrant 2, triggering a mandatory one-game suspension for Thomas and a fine.

Meanwhile, former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom declaring his eligibility for the 2027 WNBA draft has further polarized the discourse.

Article XIII, Section 1(a) of the WNBA Collective Bargaining Agreement says that “Only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA.” However, after the backlash to Sophie Cunningham’s comments, Kanter said that he and his team read the rules and didn’t violate them.

“If simply declaring who you are is all that’s required, then I meet every single requirement necessary to compete in the WNBA,” Freedom said in his declaration video on social media.

With the ongoing controversy picking, the league officials met to discuss the issue on August 12, but didn’t reach a conclusion. Instead, the special Anti-Hate Task Force headed by commissioner Cathy Engelbert herself promised to meet and further discuss the issue.

“Today’s meeting covered a wide range of topics, including ongoing discussions on transgender athletes and the continued hate and vitriol directed at players online. We will continue to engage all league stakeholders in the coming weeks and months,”

Now the reported Reddit ban and the league denying they had a role in it have added another chapter to what’s turning into an endless debate.