The WNBA’s trans athlete debate continues to rage on over a month after Sophie Cunningham opposed the idea of trans athletes participating in women’s sports in an ESPN profile by Hallie Grossman. “Young girls in a sport shouldn’t have to go against biological men,” Cunningham told Grossman. Her views on the topic divided the WNBA fanbase, leading figures both within and outside the community to take their side of the argument. From former and current WNBA players to politicians and even ex-NBA players, all have expressed their stance, except Caitlin Clark, and not for lack of trying.
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Following Cunningham’s comments, the media has indirectly and directly asked Clark to comment on her teammate’s perspective on the issue. Following their loss to the Minnesota Lynx, Clark was directly asked what she thought of Cunningham’s comments, but the Indiana Fever star deflected the question, and that’s something that doesn’t sit well with activist Riley Gaines.
“I think my main problem with Caitlin Clark and all of this isn’t that she isn’t necessarily taking a hard-line stance because, we can tell, I think it’s safe to assume what Caitlin Clark thinks about this issue,” Gaines said on the Charlie Kirk Show with Andrew Kolvet.
“I more so take issue with how loyal Sophie Cunningham has been to Caitlin in her defense over the past few years… In her defense of totally biased refs and unfair treatment… Well, here Sophie Cunningham has found herself in the midst of this cultural storm, and Caitlin Clark isn’t there defending her friend; take outside the team component of it, that’s what I more so find to be a telling factor of someone’s character.”
Sophie Cunningham has stood up for Clark on or off the court whenever she has felt that an unfair call was made. In fact, the viral pointing meme that initially helped Clark’s teammate go viral originated during one such defense of the 2024 Rookie of the Year.
Back in late June, Cunningham stepped in to defend Clark during the Indiana Fever’s game against the Phoenix Mercury on June 24 and ended up pointing at DeWanna Bonner for 22 seconds straight while her Fever teammates and staff tried to pull her aside. Cunningham even earned the nickname “Caitlin Clark’s enforcer” from Fever fans.
However, Clark put the onus on the WNBA when she was asked about the issue during the post-game presser following their 108-100 loss to the Lynx on August 2.
“I think for us, it’s not really a discussion we really have in our locker room. I think it’s for leagues and the governing bodies to work with their athletes to find solutions.”
Meanwhile, Gaines is not the first prominent speaker to call out Clark on this matter, as former Fox News and NBC veteran Megyn Kelly found the Fever star’s stance unacceptable.
“Caitlin Clark was directly asked to speak on it, and she was cowardly. She refused to do it,” she said on her podcast ‘The Megyn Kelly Show‘ on August 3.
While Clark remains under constant scrutiny for her refusal to take a stance on this matter, her basketball has not been affected by it at all. Clark and the 25-14 Fever are heading to the WNBA playoffs as one of the favorites. Individually, Clark is one of the frontrunners for the MVP award, with averages of 22.1 points, 8.3 assists, and 3.8 rebounds this season.