Sophie Cunningham stood on the Barclays Center basketball court with her head held high and her right hand over her heart as the national anthem played before the Indiana Fever faced the New York Liberty on Saturday. Yet the controversy surrounding her recent comments put her on the receiving end of boos from the crowd. And that stark contrast has caught the attention of White House correspondent Alec Lace.
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“New York Liberty players hid in the locker room during the National Anthem. Sophie Cunningham is the ONLY player on the court with her hand over her heart. Guess which player got booed?” he wrote on X.
But this reaction to Sophie Cunningham was hardly new. She has faced plenty of scrutiny and backlash ever since her comments about protecting young girls in locker rooms went viral. And from arena to arena, that tension has followed her, so Saturday night at Barclays Center was no different.
The 30-year-old was not only booed by fans in the arena, but the Liberty also used their platform to send a message of their own.
During halftime, the jumbotron displayed messages from the team that read, “Welcome Trans Liberty Fans! You are loved, and you belong!” and “Hey trans fans! Glad you’re here! Go Liberty!”
Now, those messages were hardly surprising given the Liberty’s history of making their position on social issues clear. The team has routinely remained in the locker room during the national anthem, a practice that has become increasingly common across professional sports as players and teams have used it as a platform for social and political expression.
So with almost every game since July 21 carrying a politically charged atmosphere, Sophie Cunningham has made it clear that she does not want the noise surrounding her to dictate her focus.
“It’s cool that people are using their freedom of speech and doing what they want to do. But that’s them, and I’m in my two feet. I’m where I’m at, and so I’m just focused on New York,” she said ahead of the game.
That mindset becomes even more important as the Fever enter the final stretch of the regular season. The Indiana Fever have already secured a playoff berth. But after back-to-back losses, including a 109-102 defeat to the New York Liberty on Saturday, they will be looking to regain their momentum with six games still left to play.
The three-headed monster of Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, and Aliyah Boston continues to lead the Fever, while Sophie Cunnningham, has played an increasingly important role for Stephanie White this season. She is currently averaging 8.6 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists while giving Indiana another experienced perimeter option.
With the playoffs now approaching, Cunningham’s focus may be firmly on what happens between the lines. But as Saturday showed, the conversation surrounding her continues to follow her everywhere. Whether it is the boos from the crowd, the Liberty’s messaging, or Lace pointing out the contrast during the national anthem, Cunningham remains at the center of a debate that has become impossible to separate from her WNBA journey.