Indiana Fever forward Sophie Cunningham has broken her silence on the WNBA stunts pulled by former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White, saying she will let the pair "do them" while she stays focused on her own team.
Kanter Freedom and Royce White, both former first-round NBA Draft picks who have since turned their attention to conservative politics, have publicly declared their intention to join the WNBA in what they describe as an elaborate ploy to shame the league into banning transgender athletes. The WNBA currently has no transgender players who were assigned male at birth.
It was Cunningham who appeared to inspire the pair with her own recent comments objecting to the inclusion of transgender athletes in women's sports. Since making those remarks, the Fever forward has received both public encouragement and criticism, but she offered no comment of her own on either Kanter Freedom or White.
"I'm gonna let them do them," Cunningham told ESPN. "I'm just focused on the Fever and on our sport. I think we have four more games left. I'm trying to just really dial in and keep the main thing the main thing."
Kanter Freedom invokes Cunningham's name
While Cunningham has been reluctant to publicly embrace Kanter Freedom, the Swiss-born Turkish-American has not hesitated to invoke her name as he takes aim at the WNBA.
After Kanter Freedom was ejected from a Chicago Sky game last month following a courtside confrontation with Natasha Cloud, he told Fox News that he had received a text message from Cunningham about the incident.
"What happened?" she asked, according to Kanter Freedom, who insisted the two are now friends.
"She's standing for the truth... I think she's an idol now and an American hero," Kanter Freedom said. "I'm just really happy that finally someone from the WNBA got up and said, 'Enough is enough. We have to stand for American values.'"
The Chicago Sky ejection
On the night of the confrontation with Cloud, Kanter Freedom wore a provocative T-shirt bearing a definition of the word "woman." It read: "Woman. Noun. Adult human female," with the words "woman" and "female" highlighted in red.
Kanter Freedom has insisted he did not violate the WNBA's Fan Code of Conduct. He admitted to standing up and raising his arms during the game but said he was simply celebrating a Cunningham three-pointer. He has previously alleged that Cloud told him, "She's not going to sleep with you."
Kanter Freedom's lawsuit
Earlier this month, Kanter Freedom sued the Chicago Sky, the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority and the City of Chicago over the incident. In the lawsuit, he alleged the three entities unjustly ejected him from the Sky's game against the Fever on August 23 and mistreated him even though he had done nothing wrong.
Announcing the lawsuit on X, Kanter Freedom wrote: "SEE YOU IN COURT!!! Just filed a federal complaint. I'm taking legal action over my ejection from the @ChicagoSky game while peacefully exercising my First Amendment rights."
"My T-shirt did what the whole @WNBA apparently couldn't: define a woman. No threats. No violence. Just biology. And somehow, that required a security escort. You don't have to agree with my speech but you don't get to silence me for it."
He added: "I will not be intimidated. I will not be silenced. I will continue to stand for women and defend free speech."
Responding to what he called a "meritless and frivolous" lawsuit, Chicago Sky owner Michael Alter said he will "look forward to the truth prevailing in court."
Royce White's WNBA Draft bid
White also appeared at a Fever game last month, wearing a wig as part of his attempt to enter the WNBA Draft.
The 35-year-old played only a few NBA games before falling out of the league as he battled an intense fear of flying. He later moved through several other basketball leagues and tried his hand at MMA before joining the Republican Party and entering politics.
Most recently, White lost a U.S. Senate primary in Minnesota to Michele Tafoya, a former NFL sideline reporter.
