Sophie Cunningham backed by White House after – Sports News
Sophie Cunningham has acquired assist from White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt after her remarks about trans athletes (Image: Bobby Goddin, Getty Images)
Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham seems to have gained White House assist after stating trans athletes shouldn’t compete in girls’s sports activities. During an ESPN interview, Cunningham described herself as “very much in the middle” whereas discussing “[protecting] women’s sports,” expressing her want to exclude “biological” males.
Her remarks polarized followers and drew backlash from sure quarters, particularly given the WNBA and basketball’s notably progressive tradition. “I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that.’ I think that I am here to extend love. But I also think with that love is truth, being honest,” Cunningham mentioned.
“And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.” It comes as Dave Portnoy exploded at a Caitlin Clark column as WNBA chaos spirals.
Cunningham’s statements have divided her supporters, with some applauding the Fever guard whereas others problem her perspective. Nevertheless, when White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was questioned about Cunningham’s remarks, she voiced her backing for the 29-year-old.
“Men should not be playing in women’s sports,” Leavitt mentioned. “It’s completely ludicrous that anyone would support that. The left are clearly very out of touch with the American public on this issue.”
Leavitt said that ‘males shouldn’t be enjoying in girls’s sports activities’ (Image: undefined)
The feedback emerge as Cunningham has confronted associations with right-wing politics in latest months, with online detractors dubbing her “MAGA Barbie.” The White House additionally not too long ago utilized her pointing meme when she attended the UFC, main more observers to take a position about connections to the fitting.
Cunningham has largely sought to create distance from such characterizations. In her ESPN interview, she said: “I’m very much in the middle. I agree with things on both sides, disagree with things on both sides. And that’s all I’ve ever said about my political beliefs. But people love to assume.”
Cunningham additionally indicated that she’s “not a very political person,” although her ideas motivated her to advocate for organic girls. The involvement of transgender athletes in girls’s sports activities emerged as one of probably the most contentious points during the 2024 United States Presidential election.
The controversy intensified during the Paris Olympics when Algeria’s Imane Khelif generated widespread criticism as she competed within the girls’s boxing division after failing a gender eligibility take a look at in 2023 — regardless of being a organic feminine. Donald Trump leveraged Khelif’s case as a political device, vilifying trans athletes and trans people despite the fact that they characterize simply 0.5 p.c of the population.
Trump has already taken steps to deal with the difficulty of transgender athletes competing in girls’s sports activities. In February 2025, he signed an govt order titled “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports,” which the 80-year0old declared would deliver an finish to “men beating and battering female athletes.”
The directive granted the Education Department authority to probably withdraw federal funding from colleges allowing transgender girls to take part in competitions.
Cunningham highlighted the importance of Title IX, the landmark gender equality laws enacted in 1972 that bars intercourse discrimination in academic packages receiving federal funding. She referenced it in her protection of girls’s sports activities, stating: “That’s why you have Title IX. That’s why you have some of the greats in women’s sports. If Title IX and women’s sports weren’t protected, then you wouldn’t hear about any type of women in sport. And so, I think in the future, it’s just really important to protect.”
When requested whether or not her remarks might be perceived as offensive towards transgender athletes, Cunningham maintained that she would not “dislike anyone” and that there’s “room to love everyone.”
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