US women’s sports star Sophie Cunningham speaking up on defending women's sports

[fromorbit]

Big development. In the US few big women's sports stars have dared to speak up in the defence of women having sports. Lots of coverage of this going viral. Demands that the WBNA [Women's Basketball league] take action against her.

Sophie Cunningham says it’s ‘common sense’ to keep trans athletes out of women’s sports

In the ESPN article, Cunningham said she wanted to “protect young girls in the locker room” and that “they shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”

“I said what I said. I think it’s kind of common sense,” Cunningham said before Indiana’s 123-88 victory over the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday. “And I think I’ll always believe in that. I think it’s really important to protect children, and that’s little girls who are also involved in that category. I stand on what I said.”

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7464960/2026/07/22/sophie-cunningham-trans-comments-womens-sports/

Trump Whitehouse speaking up in Cunningham's support so getting political.
https://www.aol.com/articles/sophie-cunningham-backed-white-house-003500000.html

Despite the recent Supreme Court verdict which said women can have sports a lot of Democratic leading states are continuing to say they should not have their own sports, but only mixed sex competitions.

Likely to be an ongoing political issue and be a topic in the upcoming midterms.

This is my big fear. Have they actually learned from the last election?

I agree, but they are not doing themselves any favours. What is the benefit to existing in an echo chamber? In a rare moment of insight on Reddit, I heard someone refer to it as 'toxic positivity'. At some point, they will come into contact with reality and won't be able to cope.

I think in certain circles they’d be terrified of coming into contact with reality.

It doesn't look like they have, I mean the Democrats have allowed candidates from the DSA to stand as Democrat candidates and win in a couple of recent elections. The likes of Hasan Piker has been out campaigning with some of these candidates - that doesn't demonstrate good sense and moderation to me.

I think they’re banking on Trump and government being too batshit for the majority so they don’t need to learn anything, they can get away with being “slightly less batshit” in the eyes of the electorate and win that way.

He was recently over here for some reason, I didn't read the link because I was in a rush and I really don't like the man. I'm just hoping he's not trying to export his 'influence' here, I would think he's some sort of god to the Gruesome Greens as it is.
One of their number Francesca Hong was recently beaten in the primaries in Wisconsin, they pick a moderate Democrat instead, so there is hope.

I thought he got banned from coming here, and there was a hoo ha?

Bumpety bump bump

ESPN releases historic WNBA numbers despite Sophie Cunningham's divisive trans comments

https://www.newsbreak.com/the-mirror-us-1900780/4828777133740-espn-releases-historic-wnba-numbers-despite-sophie-cunningham-s-divisive-trans-comments

Get lost with the "divisive" criticism of Cunningham. Twice.
Read the verbatim quote of what she said, no hate conveyed to those who ID as trans, but female sports are for females.
If she'd have said this 20-30 years ago, do we think any numbskull journalists would have objected?
Of course not, she'd have been conveying a standard message on female opportunities, safety and dignity. Reality and science itself.
Only one side is being "divisive" here, and it's the one attacking her.
Maybe several months of one WBNA committee after another after another ad nauseum chosen to define "what's a woman when it comes to the WBNA?" will eventually reveal a policy that will generally echo Cunningham's words, and be "divisive" itself.
The very fact that a whole series of committees are needed to answer this most fundamental, yet simple, of Qs, in itself gives the game away that the argument to allow male bodies into female sport is built on sand.
And the TRAs have the gall to refer to GC as "a cult".

Clearly not as “divisive” as some people might wish!

A petition has been started.

https://x.com/hogshead3au/status/2088424377972936782?s=46

Martina was very quick to sign.

It will be interesting to see if these women are the ‘right’ women to be heard or whether someone will
soon be along to denigrate them as more of the they are the wrong women**.

I remember last year one prolific poster claimed that Martina’s voice was to be ignored. I am sure that any female athlete’s signing this petition will be attacked and demonised.

** for ‘wrong’ read ‘grifter’, ‘far right’, ‘maga’, ‘tools of the far right’.

I don’t believe I can post the link directly. But the petition is on change dot com.

How ridiculous is it that there's a need for a petition calling for the Women's NBA to enact a Female-Only Player eligibility criteria. 🤯

When you think of the amount of time and effort it took, for decades, from so many women athletes to get all of the women's sports off the ground, to get the funding, to get the recognition, to be taken seriously, all for it to be tossed away in favour of a manifestly stupid ideology, that's deeply misogynistic and so destructive to women and young girls.

I have been looking through the huge amount of articles/commentary on the Sophie drama to post the latest.

There are so many awful takes from dem leaning media that it is pointless to the post. Near impossible to find neutral stuff. The right leaning media is more truthful but obviously spin it politically as well.

The thing is though the media have LOST control of narrative but they are still trying to act like it is 2015 or something.

In doing so they create bigger pushback. More people want women to have sports.

As far as I can make out it varies. Some Dems are avoiding the subject, but the problem is that the party has a bunch of full on Trans activists who think it is one of the BIGGEST issues the US faces right now way more important than economy, war etc.

One example where the most pro TA candidate won a primary :
https://www.advocate.com/politics/election/peggy-flanagan-unseats-angie-craig

So yes Republicans who think trans issues alone will win them an election can be deluded too, but they are reacting to a crazy world.

Sooner or later reality will bite. It seems very possible that when a Dem victory in the mid terms seemed certain that trans stuff will cost them seats in some places. Especially as the big problem for Repubs is getting turn out. The Dems being insane on trans stuff could be a big motivating factor when Trump is not exactly inspiring support.

Watch this space.

This "right side of history" thing is one Hell of a powerful drug. The trans advocates politicians and policy makers (more accurately advocates for those who see no downsides for men in women's spaces) are on the same high that the evangelicals in the Republican Party enjoyed in their heyday of the 80s-00s.
In all my 62 years, I haven't seen a more zero sum game in politics or societal mores.

I’m frankly surprised that Change.com is allowing it.

"Change.com Is A Comin' "

I'm not sure if this has been considered on this thread already but I read in the comments of an article on the WNBA brouhaha that they may be reluctant to define a woman because of players with DSDs. A name was mentioned but a quick googling didn't confirm anything concrete just lots of conjecture.

Ah, more pretend women.

I’m not sure why they think they’re different to every other sport which has had to grapple with that issue. DSDs may or may not affect performance, depending on which ones they are, they’re not irrelevant to the fairness question, the safety question or the definition of female question. Many DSDs are exclusively male ones.

I don't know that WNBA have explicitly said anything about DSDs complicating matters. I've only seen speculation. I agree though it shouldn't require months of wrangling. If there are current players who do have male DSDs they are probably reluctant to open a can of worms. Cowards.

If it hasn’t been mentioned on this thread, I have mentioned in on another WNBA thread.

The drama grows.

Caitlyn Jenner takes aim at WNBA's 'hypocrisy' over trans feud

https://www.dailymail.com/sport/wnba/article-16055597/amp/caitlyn-jenner-wnba-trans-controversy.html

Sophie has gone to a bar and danced/sung and this is getting huge headlines now.
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/national-treasure-sophie-cunningham-hailed-030241219.html

The crazy keeps escalating. We know Reddit is sexist but still.

Sophie Cunningham name banned from WNBA subreddit amid ‘trans’ scandal
https://nypost.com/2026/08/16/sports/sophie-cunningham-name-banned-wnba-subreddit-amid-trans-scandal/

Banning women for wearing T shirts from matches now
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/t-believe-happened-mother-sophie-114242553.html