As the WNBA’s Sophie Cunningham remains under the media’s massive microscope, with fan debate and social media outrage, her family has spoken out. Following many conversations around her place of influence on the court, the outspoken woman with regard to ladies’ sports, as well as on-line anger recently, her very own mother and sister combated for her on social media.
Family Steps In to Defend Sophie Cunningham
Despite heavy online backlashes and criticism from different sports analysts, Cunningham’s family members have made their unwavering support for him evident.
Brother’s Response: Staying down-to-earth, Cunningham’s sister, Lindsey Cunningham, tweeted her support, responding to the ongoing backlash with a frank social media message: “Can confirm there are zero [expletives] given.”
Mum’s support: Sophie’s mum, Paula Cunningham, has also appealed directly to fans on X. When faced with a poll of fans and whether she would continue to support Sophie given all the noise, her mum tweeted: “Yes yes!”
The Cunningham family has come to the WNBA guard’s defense before. For years, they’ve publicly and loudly come to her defense with respect to physical play and uneven officiating in the league.
Cunningham’s Unapologetic Stance on Critics
All the attention too has also been for the secondary reason of Cunningham speaking out on the fight to keep women’s sport in public consciousness, the physicality of sport, and not selling out to critics.
To columnists and online critics who doubted her worth to teams like the Indiana Fever, Cunningham responded in typical fashion:
“Most of these people haven’t even played with a ball in their whole life, and they just, like, are craving to get that attention or be relevant… I really don’t care what people say, I’m just going to continue doing me. I know what I bring to the table. It’s not always in the stat sheet.”
Although critics have demanded her removal or attempted to mute her voice, Cunningham has seen her social media numbers grow exponentially, a clear sign of her relentless approach still winning a broad support base.
What’s Next for Sophie Cunningham?
With one offseason remaining before the free agency period in the WNBA, Cunningham remains a hot topic of discussion leading into the next offseason. Although some analysts are still trying to decide Cunningham’s worth to her on the court and within her own team’s locker room, her people, including Fever general manager Amber Cox, have already touted her as a leader, having a dangerous mentality and a hard worker.
One thing is obvious: no matter how much they are loved or how much they are criticized, Sophie Cunningham and her family will never be afraid to stand up for what they think and to be themselves to please those who criticize.