Sophie Cunningham seemed to have it all. As a guard for the Indiana Fever in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), Cunningham’s star power was on the rise. She boasts 5 million Instagram followers, countless brand partnerships, and appeared as a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model.
Then in a July interview with ESPN, Cunningham said that biological men shouldn’t be in women and girls’ sports or private spaces. She is now receiving the backlash from far-left activists we’ve come to expect. Despite it, she hasn’t backed down.
“I said what I said,” she told reporters questioning her position. “I think it’s kind of common sense … it’s really important to protect children, and that’s little girls who are also involved in that category.” She later doubled down on her stance saying, “That’s why you have Title IX. That’s why you have some of the greats in women’s sports. If Title IX and women’s sports weren’t protected, then you wouldn’t hear about any type of women in sport. And so, I think in the future, it’s just really important to protect.”
Most people agree. A majority of Americans believe biological males should not be permitted in female private spaces like locker rooms, dorm rooms, or bathrooms. And nearly 80% of Americans oppose biological males competing on women’s sports teams.
Those numbers reflect something people understand intuitively: biological males have physical advantages over their female peers. In fact, the United Nations, American Parents Coalition (APC), and He Cheated, have each documented countless incidents in which biological males competing in female sports have cost female athletes of trophies, podium spots, and even championship titles. In some cases, the consequences have gone beyond lost opportunities and resulted in physical injuries.
But you’d never know that from looking at the mainstream coverage of Cunningham’s remarks. Instead, the WNBA, the public, and the mainstream media, are allowing a small but loud segment of the population bully Cunningham for speaking the truth.
The aggression of Cunningham’s opponents has made recent WNBA games look more like violent brawls than professional basketball. Just last week, Cunningham was flagrantly fouled and could have been seriously injured. Some responded by calling it “karma.” She has also been protested and booed at games and even branded as a “MAGA Barbie.” Despite this, the physical, personal, and political attacks have failed to diminish Cunningham’s courage.
“I think that I am here to extend love,” Cunningham has said. “But I also think that with love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in a sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”
These words from a professional athlete like Cunningham, or a former top collegiate athlete like Riley Gaines, carry enormous weight. But Cunningham and Gaines should be amplifiers for what we already know the public overwhelmingly supports, not the only ones willing to speak up.
It’s our duty as parents to support their courage, not leave them to stand as the sole advocates for our daughters. We must defend the future of women’s sports as well as the safety, privacy, and opportunities of girls in our own communities. Whether in youth sports leagues, high schools, or even at the collegiate level, parents have an obligation to speak truth, stand up for our daughters, and hold the line. We cannot be afraid of or intimidated by pushback within our community and social circles and idly stand by expecting others to fight these battles for our daughters. We cannot afford to be the silent majority any longer.
That anyone would attack a woman for defending women’s sports, Title IX, and the safety and privacy of female athletes is an outrage. That so few have come to her defense is equally appalling, especially when we know where the public stands. Parents should ask themselves why they are letting her hang out to dry. If more of us were willing to speak up, would Cunningham’s words even seem so remarkable?
As a former athlete and coach, I know firsthand how important being on a sports team can be to the development of young girls. The benefits extend far beyond their athletic careers, giving girls the confidence and skills to thrive later in life. If a boy takes a spot on the team that could have gone to a girl, that girl misses out on crucial opportunities during a formative period of her life. She loses opportunities to develop teamwork, build healthy eating and exercise habits, form friendships, benefit from mentorship, and learn how to win and lose with grace. Allowing boys into female sports threatens the very opportunities those teams were created to provide.
Cunningham stuck her neck out for your daughters. We need parents, coaches, and our community to stand up too.
Alleigh Marré is the executive director of American Parents Coalition and a mother of four.
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I would have to wonder what is wrong with the apparent 20% that are OK with men competing in women’s sports? There must be some kind of irrational mind set with those that think there is any way that it is OK for men to play on women’s teams that involve contact like basketball or football, or any other sport that should be reserved for women exclusively. It is one thing to have mixed sports teams that include both men and women, but typically those sports do not involve contact or physical strength that men typically exceed at, and women, although some are very capable, cannot compete with the strength and speed that men are generally better equipped for where athleticism is required. I am beginning to think that there is a general mental incapcity on the part of those that believe it is OK for women to get beat up and brutalised by men in sporting activity, it is clearly a derangement of considerable breadth in this country, and it strikes me as a disengagement of any form of common sense or a capacity for fairness on the part of those that think it is OK to have men beating women for sport.