Sophie Cunningham has been at the center of the most polarizing off-court conversation this season. Now, after an unexpected turn involving former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White declaring for the WNBA draft, the Indiana Fever guard seemingly has no interest in making it her problem.
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During an interview with ESPN on September 11, Cunningham directly addressed Freedom and White’s declarations for the first time and said that she’s not giving the matter any of her focus, as ESPN reporter Katie Barnes wrote.
“I’m gonna let them do them,” Cunningham said per the New York Post on Instagram.
“I’m just focused on the Fever and on our sport. I think we have four more games left. I’m trying to just really dial in and keep the main thing the main thing,” she added.
Cunningham’s initial comments started off the entire controversy. On July 21, during a profile with ESPN, Cunningham publicly showed support for stopping transgender athletes from participating in women’s sports.
Freedom, who has called Cunningham his “friend” and referenced her stance multiple times, declared for the draft following her comments. He did so via social media, where he claimed to identify as a woman in an attempt to challenge the WNBA’s eligibility criteria, which only says that “only players who are women are eligible to play in the WNBA.”
White followed suit, making a similar declaration on his own social media accounts about self-identifying as a woman.
There have been several developments since, including Freedom being banned from the Chicago Sky’s Wintrust Arena following an altercation with guard Natasha Cloud, and Freedom suing them for their actions.
Since then, the WNBA has reportedly pushed back. According to the Associated Press, an anonymous source familiar with the decision explained that Freedom and White were not eligible for the draft, but didn’t explain any reasoning behind that decision.
However, Cunningham seems to have decided that she doesn’t want anything to do with the controversy anymore. The guard is currently averaging 8.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game, and has become an essential part of the Fever’s rotation. With her latest comments, she’s shown that the Fever’s final stretch of games is all she’s focused on, especially as the team looks to make a deep push into the playoffs and build on an impressive 2026 regular season.
“I think this team has great potential to make a really great playoff run,” Cunningham told ESPN. “And if I’m filling my brain and my energy with all that stuff, then it’s taking away from the team. And so I’m just trying to stay here and let them do what they want to do.”
Cunningham’s statement comes after Freedom had already claimed that the two texted about the events at the Chicago Sky-Indiana Fever game on August 23, where Freedom’s heated courtside altercation with Cloud led to him being ejected from the arena. The former NBA center claimed on Fox’s The Big Weekend Show that Sophie Cunningham texted him, asking, “What happened?” While Cunningham has never clarified if this is true, her recent comments further distance her from both Freedom as well as the ongoing trans discourse in the league.
Regardless of whatever happens, it seems like Sophie Cunningham has put the controversy behind her. If her recent comments are anything to go by, Indiana’s postseason ambitions are where the guard believes her energy matters the most.