The Indiana Fever are finally building the kind of momentum they need with the playoffs right around the corner. Behind Kelsey Mitchell’s 29 points, they picked up their fifth straight win on Sunday, beating the Toronto Tempo 101-95. But once again, Sophie Cunningham has found herself at the center of a conversation that has little to do with the Fever’s recent run.
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The 30-year-old guard was met with a hostile reception from the Toronto crowd as she checked into the game with 4:34 remaining in the first quarter. That reaction returned later in the quarter when Cunningham got the ball with 1:24 left, prompting the broadcaster to highlight what was happening in real time.
“Here’s Cunningham, hearing the boo’s as she touches (the ball), gets fouled by (Kia) Nurse,” the broadcaster said, as per an X post by Brickcenter.
The reception was hardly surprising given the controversy that has followed Sophie Cunningham since July 21. The Fever guard became one of the WNBA’s most polarizing figures after speaking out on transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.
While Cunningham said she wanted to protect young girls “in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men,” her comments quickly drew widespread criticism and were viewed by many as controversial. Since then, the guard has continued to face backlash both online and inside opposing arenas.
That was evident in Toronto, where TSN revealed that fans in the arena held up signs and flags supporting transgender people during the game. Some of the messages read, “Transphobes don’t belong in women’s sports” and “We (heart) trans athletes.”
On the other hand, Sophie Cunningham has also had plenty of support. Fans gathered outside the Canadian arena to voice their backing for the Fever guard, showing that the controversy surrounding her has divided basketball fans rather than producing a universal reaction.
Despite the backlash, Cunningham has repeatedly made it clear that she would rather let her basketball do the talking.
“I’m going to let people just do the speaking for themselves, but for me, I want to get back to basketball,” Cunningham said in an interview with ESPN earlier this month. “It’s always been about basketball… I just want to make sure that the focus stays where it should because people are playing at such a high level.”
And that has remained Sophie Cunningham’s approach despite the controversy following her from arena to arena. Against the Tempo, she kept her attention on the court, finishing with 13 points, two assists and two rebounds in 28 minutes.
While Cunningham played her part, Kelsey Mitchell led the way with 29 points, while Caitlin Clark added another 24 to help the Fever secure back-to-back wins and their fifth straight victory.
With eight more games left in the regular season, Indiana may have found its rhythm at the right time. Yet for Sophie Cunningham, the challenge remains the same: finding a way to keep the focus on basketball while the debate surrounding her continues to spiral.