Anti-trans activists target WNBA game after Cunningham remarks
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- Sophie Cunningham's recent ESPN remarks against transgender athletes in women's sports drew about 50 demonstrators outside the Moda Center in Portland holding "Thank you, Sophie" posters, while fans inside booed her repeatedly despite her 13 points.
- A Seattle Storm co-owner was suspended three days earlier for berating teenage girls holding "Thank you Sophie" signs inside the arena, following a thinner demonstration in Seattle.
- Caitlin Clark posted 26 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for her fourth career triple-double as the Indiana Fever (19-10) beat the Portland Fire (11-18) 112-98, extending a WNBA record of five straight 100-point games before a sold-out crowd of 19,959.
- Women's Liberation Front member Sherrie Taha, who identified as an "out lesbian for 50 years," printed the posters, while three-time Olympic cyclist Inga Thompson — who oversees a 160-head cattle farm in eastern Oregon — called for sex testing in elite sports.
- Edward Niedermeyer, dressed in an inflatable frog costume, stood as a counter-protester holding a "TRANS PEOPLE JUST WANT TO LIVE" sign and called the debate "instrumentalized" for viral attention.
- Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve countered that the narrative implying transgender women are predators in locker rooms is "problematic," while NCAA president Charlie Baker told Congress in 2024 that only 10 transgender athletes exist among more than half a million college athletes.
Why it matters: The WNBA's surging popularity — a sold-out 19,959 and a league-record five straight 100-point games — now collides with protests over an issue that NCAA president Charlie Baker told Congress in 2024 affects just 10 transgender athletes among more than half a million college competitors. The protest volume vastly exceeds the affected population, yet players face booing and a Seattle co-owner was suspended for confronting teenage sign-holders inside the arena.
