Sophie Cunningham apparently created controversy just by being honest when asked a question, saying she thought young girls should be protected in a locker room and not have to play against biological men.
When she faced pressure, she didn't back down, saying it was "common sense."
"I said what I said. I think it's kind of common sense," Cunningham said the following week. "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."
That earned her some backlash. But also a lot of support, as that is in keeping with the thoughts of most Americans.
As I noted earlier, Cunningham delivered more common sense this past week, basically telling people to be thankful that they get to play the game, and concentrate on playing, rather than being prima donnas.
So, of course, a sports columnist for The Athletic, Candace Buckner, is arguing that the Fever should get rid of her.
In a piece published on Tuesday, Buckner argued that Cunningham caused a "circus" for the Indiana Fever this season, calling her "a bench player with big opinions."
"All because of Sophie Cunningham. This was the season when the Fever and even the whole Caitlin Clark experience took a backseat to a bench player with big opinions," Buckner wrote for The Athletic. "So if the Fever ever want to go back to being a basketball team again and follow the lead of rivals openly clashing with the forces trying to hijack their league, then Cunningham has to go."
Buckner termed Cunningham a "30-year-old unrestricted free agent who averages fewer than 8 points a game" and argued she wasn't worth it.
"Cunningham is too combustible, her takes too turbulent to be paired with Caitlin Clark. On the same team, it's just too much. Clark, by her presence alone, already can't get through a season without being thrown into gutter debates that pit White against Black; hate that appears even in the DMs of her own teammates. Cunningham, with only a few words, introduced new divisions," Buckner wrote.
Apparently, it's too "turbulent" to observe the basic reality that women should be the people playing women's sports. I guess it's wrong to tell prima donnas to "grow up" and appreciate the platform they're able to play on. Wouldn't want people doing that.
Buckner's comments were then met with a lot of backlash.
"All of this crap simply bc @sophaller was asked a question about biological men playing women's sport and answered honestly…something most athletes & media are too cowardly to do," former ESPN anchor Sage Steele replied. "There's a lot of hatred in this article..so sad what sports media has become."
"This could not be more inaccurate," former ESPN star Linda Cohn wrote.
But if Buckner thought her take was going to have any influence on the Fever, Fever general manager Amber Cox put an end to that right away.
"Sophie is a really solid leader in the locker room … she brings levity, but also brings a lot of experience. She's serious and is an important voice in our locker room when we need it, when we really need to lock in," Cox said. "She's an unrestricted free agent, so we look forward to having those conversations. She had a really productive year, and we'll see just where things take us."
Translation? The liberal media can go whistle in the wind. Whether or not the Fever retain her, it isn't going to be determined by these kinds of attacks from the media.
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