WNBA star Sophie Cunningham is getting backing from the White House for her position that biological males shouldn’t play in women’s sports. Cunningham said her goal is simply to “protect young girls.”
In an ESPN interview, she pointed out that she doesn’t hate anyone. “I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that,'” she said. “I think that I am here to extend love. But I also think 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.”
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During a White House briefing, a reporter pointed out to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt that Cunningham has been attacked by critics who accuse her of being a “MAGA Barbie” for saying it’s wrong for male athletes to be allowed in women’s sports and locker rooms.
Leavitt went on to offer a passionate defense of the Indiana Fever star, who has gone viral in recent weeks for multiple reasons, including her now-famous pointing gesture when she was calling out an opponent after a foul.
When asked if President Trump had reached out to Cunningham about her stance on trans athletes in girls’ sports, Leavitt replied, “I know he is following the story. As you know, this is something the president feels strongly about as well, and the American people do too, that men should not be playing in women’s sports. It’s completely ludicrous that anyone could support that.
“It’s even more ludicrous that you do have Sophie Cunningham, a female athlete herself, very accomplished in her own right, coming forth and speaking that truth that men shouldn’t play in women’s sports, we want to protect women and girls – and the backlash she is receiving from Democrats and left-wing figures across the country is astonishing. They are clearly very out of touch with the American public on this issue, which again is an 80-20 issue. It’s common sense. It’s rooted in basic biological fact that men should not be competing against women on playing fields across the country.”
Meanwhile, before this year’s WNBA season began, Cunningham also took a faith step to declare her faith in Christ.
She wrote of her baptism moment, which took place at Christ’s Church of the Valley in Peoria, AZ, “I got baptized when I was little but I was feeling a tug on my heart to do it on my terms as an adult… Thank you Jesus.”
While re-sharing a video of her getting baptized, she posted, “Loving Jesus is fun, try it.”
Loving Jesus is fun, try it. https://t.co/PgqboIOXU0
— Sophie Cunningham (@sophaller) April 16, 2026
