A fist pressed into Caitlin Clark's neck got one game.
Sophie Cunningham said she wants to protect girls in locker rooms and got a licensing ban, a 3-Point Contest snub, and a national pile-on.
But White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stepped to the podium Thursday and didn't hedge for a second.
Karoline Leavitt Did Not Mince Words
"Men should not be playing in women's sports," Leavitt told reporters. "It's completely ludicrous that anyone could support that."
She wasn't done.
Leavitt called the left-wing backlash against Cunningham "astonishing" and said critics are "clearly very out of touch with the American public on this issue – which again, is an 80/20 issue."
https://twitter.com/MirrorUSSports/status/2080365565349106069?s=20
President Trump is following the story and agrees with Cunningham's position.
That's the President of the United States and his press secretary standing behind one WNBA player brave enough to say what most of the country already believes.
What Sophie Actually Said
Cunningham's ESPN interview earlier this week wasn't a political manifesto.
It was common sense.
"I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans," Cunningham said. "And I'm like, 'I never once said that.'"
She said she's here to "extend love" – but that love includes telling the truth.
"I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn't have to go against biological men," she said.
The Left called that transphobic.
Cunningham doubled down ahead of Indiana's win over the Connecticut Sun on Wednesday.
"I think I said what I said," she told reporters. "I think it's kind of common sense."
She's right – and the law backs her up.
The Supreme Court upheld Indiana's transgender athlete ban for scholastic and collegiate competitions in late June 2026.
The NCAA already bans transgender athletes from women's competition.
This isn't a fringe position. It's the majority position and the legal position.
The Left just hates being reminded of that.
The WNBA's Campaign Against Its Own Star
Here's what makes this story even richer.
Cunningham is shooting a career-high 43.7% from three-point range – among the best in the league.
The WNBA just announced the field for its All-Star Weekend 3-Point Contest – and Cunningham wasn't invited.
At the same time, the Players Association blocked every licensee in the league from using her viral finger-pointing celebration, officially labeling it "derogatory."
https://twitter.com/KortneyGlavin90/status/2080432962269778258?s=20
One of the sport's most popular players, one of its best shooters, locked out of the All-Star showcase and stripped of her signature moment – all while being attacked for wanting to protect girls.
Cunningham posted "soooo what else is new with everyone?" and then deleted it.
This is what institutional punishment looks like when activists are running the institution.
The pattern isn't new. In 2022, Cunningham was hit with a social media firestorm after sharing criticism of transgender swimmer Lia Thomas – who that year became the first male-born athlete to win an NCAA Division I women's championship.
She issued a clarifying statement then.
She didn't back down this time.
The Left Just Handed Trump Another Win
Karoline Leavitt called this an "80/20 issue" for a reason.
When Democrats and WNBA activists mob a female athlete for saying she wants to protect girls in locker rooms, they're not winning converts – they're handing Republicans a midterm issue with legs.
Sophie Cunningham didn't set out to be a political figure.
She said so herself.
"I'm not a very political person, but I do have beliefs. I have morals, and I'll always stand on those," she said.
https://twitter.com/realTrentLeisy/status/2080344250106138933?s=20
That's exactly why this lands so hard.
She's not a pundit or a politician.
She's a professional female athlete saying she wants to protect the sport she's given her career to.
The WNBA punished her for it.
The White House backed her for it.
One of those responses reflects what 80% of this country actually thinks.
The other just guaranteed this debate runs straight through the 2026 midterms.
Sources:
- Jackson Thompson, "White House defends WNBA star Sophie Cunningham after she speaks out in support of protecting women's sports," Fox News/OutKick, July 23, 2026.
- "White House backs WNBA star Sophie Cunningham on women's sports remarks," The Washington Times, July 23, 2026.
- "Sophie Cunningham sparks controversy with trans athletes stance," The Washington Times, July 22, 2026.
- "Sophie Cunningham takes subtle jab at WNBA for 3-point contest snub in now-deleted post," The Big Lead, July 22, 2026.
- "Meet Sophie Cunningham, the WNBA Superstar and Scrappy Feminist Standing Up for Women's Sports," Washington Free Beacon, July 23, 2026.
