Sports Media Loved Athlete Activism—Until Sophie Cunningham Spoke Up

WNBA Star Sophie Cunningham -- someday the FEVER will retire her Jersey!

Hoosier Enquirer | Commentary

October 7, 2026

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Fever should not move on from Sophie. Girls sports teams should be for girls, period. She is a fan favorite for helping protect CC. Liberals are jealous of her skill, grace, and beauty.

For years, America's sports media told fans that athletes should use their platforms, speak their minds and refuse to “just stick to sports.” Megan Rapinoe became perhaps the clearest example, mixing an extraordinary soccer career with outspoken advocacy on LGBTQ issues, racial politics, equal pay and opposition to Donald Trump.

Now Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham is speaking her mind—and suddenly one prominent sports columnist thinks the Fever would be better off without her.

The Athletic columnist Candace Buckner argued this week that Indiana should part ways with Cunningham, writing that the veteran is “too combustible” and her opinions “too turbulent” to remain alongside Caitlin Clark. Buckner's argument comes after Cunningham became one of the WNBA's most outspoken players on transgender participation in women's sports, saying girls and women shouldn't have to compete against biological males.

Cunningham hasn't identified herself as a Republican. In fact, she told ESPN that she considers herself politically “very much in the middle,” agreeing and disagreeing with positions on both sides. Her position on women's sports nevertheless earned praise from the Trump administration and conservative activists while drawing criticism from parts of the WNBA and sports media.

That makes Buckner's call particularly striking.

Buckner's previous commentary treated political advocacy by athletes considerably differently. Writing for The Washington Post in 2022, she praised Rapinoe and gymnast Simone Biles as advocates deserving of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. After the U.S. women's soccer team's disappointing 2023 World Cup, Buckner defended Rapinoe and her teammates against political attacks and described Rapinoe as a “lionhearted heroine for one side” of America's culture war.

There is nothing improper about a columnist supporting Rapinoe's activism or criticizing Cunningham's. Columnists are paid to have opinions. But readers are entitled to notice when the media's enthusiasm for outspoken athletes appears to depend upon what those athletes are saying.

Cunningham's position also isn't some obscure belief residing on the political fringe. Recent polling cited in coverage of the controversy found substantial public opposition to transgender athletes competing on teams inconsistent with their sex assigned at birth. Cunningham's language may be provocative, but the underlying position is held by a large portion of Americans.

That makes calling for her departure from the Fever a curious response to a disagreement over public policy.

The Fever haven't announced that Cunningham is leaving. She enters free agency this winter, meaning Indiana will make its own basketball and business decision about whether she belongs on the roster. Her performance, salary, chemistry and the team's plans should properly factor into that decision.

Her willingness to express a lawful political or cultural opinion shouldn't automatically disqualify her.

The broader issue extends beyond Cunningham. Sports journalism increasingly covers professional leagues through the same cultural and political lens that dominates cable news. WNBA coverage in particular routinely intersects with race, gender, sexuality, transgender policy and national politics.

That isn't necessarily wrong. Sports have never existed entirely outside American culture or politics. But consistency matters.

If Rapinoe could kneel during the national anthem, criticize a president and become celebrated precisely because she refused to separate sports from politics, Cunningham should be able to express her own views without the mere expression of those views becoming an argument for taking away her roster spot.

Sports media don't have to agree with Sophie Cunningham, but a large number of Fever fans and girls do.

But if athlete activism is genuinely worth defending, that principle has to survive contact with athletes whose politics NYT journalists don't share.