Why These Women Rallied for Sophie Cunningham in Seattle

Sophie Cunningham, an Indiana Fever shooting guard, found fame last month for not backing down on the court, and now she’s facing full-court pressure for saying that men shouldn’t be allowed to play in women’s sports.

Last night, fans of Cunningham hosted a rally outside of Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, Wash., to show the athlete they have her back.

“Because we’ve seen what’s happened to actors, actresses, singers that have come out in support of women’s spaces, and they’ve been silenced, effectively, and we didn’t want Sophie to feel like she didn’t have support,” said Jane Berns, a member of the coalition Women Are Real. 

High school athletes attended the rally wearing shirts from XX-XY Athletics and holding signs with their families that said, “We love you Sophie” and “Thank you Sophie for speaking up for girls!”, according to photos obtained from Amy Sousa, an event attendee and organizer.

Counterprotestors stood near the Cunningham rally with pro-trans sports signs. One read, “My kid plays a trans-inclusive sport & everything is FINE.” The group also received backlash on X ahead of the rally for supporting Cunningham’s “transphobic statements.”

“There will be an anti-trans rally in Seattle tomorrow ahead of the Storm game against the Fever in support of Sophie Cunningham’s latest public transphobic statements,” an X post read. “I thought it was online fans only. That’s what she’s inciting.”

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But Cunningham made it clear: She’s never said she hates people who identify as transgender. She just wants women to have a fair chance in sports.

After pointing for 22 seconds at opponent DeWanna Bonner, Cunningham gained over 1 million followers on social media. Then she was featured in an ESPN profile on July 22, and she defended women’s sports. 

“I think that I am here to extend love,” Cunningham told ESPN. “But I also think that with that love is truth, being honest. 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.”

Sophie Cunningham’s ‘Crazy Energy’ Pumps Up Women’s Sports

Berns and other women involved in organizations that defend women’s sports heard Cunningham’s stance and saw that she didn’t back down. It was the perfect opportunity to praise an athlete for supporting women.

“This is what we’ve been hoping for,” Berns said. “We’ve been doing this for four years, and there are other women and other people that have been doing this much longer. We’ve been dying for somebody to come out and say this and risk their career.”

Women flew in for the day just to attend the rally, according to Sousa, who runs the digital media platform Known Heretic.

“So, we are some dedicated cheerleaders,” Sousa said. “We really want to celebrate her, and in the face of some of the criticism that she has been getting, we just want to stay positive and say, ‘We love what you’re doing.’” 

Cunningham indicates that the movement to protect women’s sports is garnering more support.

“The situation is that women have been told that standing up for single-sex sports will cost them everything and get them cancelled, but Sophie Cunningham has spoken up and sold out her shoes” Sousa said. “They expected a boycott. They got a sellout.”

Adidas released fluorescent pink Crazy Energy Sophie Cunningham basketball shoes on July 24. All sizes sold out in less than an hour.

That “Crazy Energy” is what makes Cunningham so inspiring to young women.

“I think she’s the perfect person to do this,” Berns said. “She’s incredibly charismatic. She’s very fun. She’s also a really fierce competitor and protective of her teammates.”