WNBA guard Sophie Cunningham has admitted she "talked s***" to Portland fans after being loudly booed on court following her comments on transgender athletes in women's sports.
Cunningham has been at the center of a heated debate over the past week after telling ESPN that young girls "shouldn't have to go against biological men" when playing sports.
The Indiana Fever guard, 29, has drawn support from protesters outside several WNBA arenas in recent days. But the mood shifted in Portland on Friday night, when the home crowd booed her vociferously.
On court, it appeared Cunningham used a hand signal to call the fans "losers" after hitting a three-pointer. She later took to social media to clarify what happened, posting a video of the moment and writing that she didn't call them losers but did "talk s***."
In a follow-up post, she shared a video of herself with a finger to her lips, appearing to shush the booing fans.
In another post, Cunningham shared a clip of herself handing a young fan her game-worn shoes as a thank you for their support.
Cunningham addresses the controversy
Before tip-off on Friday, Cunningham said she has not been a distraction for the Fever.
"I think at the end of the day, I come in and I do my job," Cunningham said. "I think everyone who knows me personally, they know that I'm full of love. I'm bubbly. I love the people around me. I love basketball.
"I love inspiring the next generation and doing that in a positive light. And so that doesn't even cross my mind. Doesn't cross my teammates' minds.
"And again, I'm here to play basketball, but I'm also here to be me, and I'm not gonna like shadow that or hide or, you know, dim my light just because maybe people don't agree with that."
Coach weighs in, protests outside arena
Fever coach Stephanie White was also asked about the debate before the game and said she does not believe exclusion is the answer.
"I wouldn't say I'm educated enough from a scientific standpoint, but I don't ever believe that exclusion is an answer," White told reporters. "I just don't. I do think, when we think about various levels of sport, various governing bodies of sport and things that go into that, as I said, I'm not educated enough at the different levels. I know growing up that I played with the boys all the time. There weren't girls sports back then."
While White spoke inside Moda Center, Cunningham supporters demonstrated outside. According to videos posted on a "Women Are Real" X account, the protest did not draw a large crowd. Several people held signs thanking Cunningham for opposing transgender athletes in women's sports, and one man was seen making an "X" with his arms.
Cunningham told reporters she has no ties to the group, though she supports their message.
"I have honestly had nothing to do with them," Cunningham said. "I think it's people just practicing their rights of freedom of speech and doing what other fans have been doing since the WNBA has started. And so props to them, props to everyone who is able to be competent and be bold and courageous enough to speak their truths."
Days earlier, the same organizers made national news in Seattle after two young Cunningham supporters accused Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton of calling them "f***ing insane" and berating them courtside for their support of Cunningham. The WNBA subsequently banned Keaton from the Storm's next five home games.
