Sophie Cunningham Responds to Column Calling for Fever to Move On

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham and co-host Drew Hanlen used the latest episode of the No Hesitation podcast to respond to an Oct. 6 column by The Athletic's Candace Buckner, which argued that Indiana should not bring Cunningham back in free agency.

In the column, Buckner wrote that the Fever should move on from the 30-year-old guard because of the attention that followed Cunningham's comments on transgender athletes in a July ESPN profile.

Buckner named Riley Gaines, Royce White, and Enes Kanter Freedom among the figures who came to Fever games this season and wrote that they came "to be part of a circus, not to enjoy a WNBA game."

"This was the season when the Fever and even the whole Caitlin Clark experience took a backseat to a bench player with big opinions," Buckner wrote.

Buckner also wrote that Cunningham "shouldn't be muted" and should speak out on another team instead, naming Chicago and Portland as possible destinations. She questioned Cunningham's effectiveness on the court and noted that she averaged fewer than eight points per game as a reserve.

Through 43 regular-season games, Cunningham averaged 7.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 22.2 minutes. She shot 46% from the field and 41.9% from 3-point range. Three of those appearances were starts.

Hanlen called the column an "absolute hate piece" during the podcast.

"Both of us were like, 'It doesn't even deserve any time of day,'" Hanlen said. "But as a 'facts over feelings' guy, I don't want to address any of the personal attacks that were just completely off the wall and completely wrong, but I do want to address two basketball things because again, facts over feelings."

Hanlen said Cunningham finished as the fourth-leading bench scorer in the WNBA and fourth in the league in effective field goal percentage.

"I understand that you just don't like somebody and you try to write a hate piece, but don't try to put down the basketball stuff," Hanlen explained. "At least keep it with the facts. So that's my two cents."

Late in the regular season, the Fever posted a 30-second video on social media promoting Cunningham for Sixth Player of the Year. At the time, Newsweek listed her effective field goal percentage at 62.9%, second in the league, along with a league-best 131.6 offensive rating.

Cunningham signed a one-year, $665,000 contract with Indiana before the season while still recovering from the torn MCL she suffered in 2025.

Cunningham said criticism will not change how she approaches her career.

"I literally don't even care what anyone says about me anymore," Cunningham said. "Because I've said this so many times, if you're going to live by the praise, you're going to die by the hate. And the majority of these people have never picked up a ball in their entire lives. And they're just thirsty to have attention or be relevant in some type of way."

"No matter what anyone says to me, I'm going to continue to do me," Cunningham continued. "I know what I bring to the table. It's not always in the stat sheet. And so for you to not say I'm effective or any of that, whatever, suck it."

From there, Cunningham said she wanted to talk basketball for the rest of the episode.

The hosts moved on to the ending of the Atlanta Dream's overtime win over the New York Liberty in Game 2 of their semifinal series, which closed with confusion over a reset timeout.

In the July ESPN profile, Cunningham said women's sports should be reserved for biological females. She has also said she does not hate transgender people.

On Aug. 2, supporters and opponents of her position gathered outside Target Center in Minneapolis before the Fever played the Minnesota Lynx, and Cunningham was booed on her first touch.

Cunningham launched No Hesitation with Hanlen, a basketball trainer, after Show Me Something, the podcast she hosted with childhood friend West Wilson, stopped releasing episodes this summer. Wilson had publicly disagreed with her position on transgender athletes.

The Las Vegas Aces eliminated Indiana in the first round of the playoffs, winning Game 3 94-83 at Michelob ULTRA Arena.

Fever general manager Amber Cox said afterward that Cunningham's off-court comments would have no bearing on whether Indiana tries to re-sign her, according to WISH-TV's Angela Moryan.

"She's an unrestricted free agent, so we look forward to having those conversations," Cox said.

Cunningham has spent two seasons in Indiana since the Fever acquired her in a trade with the Phoenix Mercury, where she played her first six seasons.

Across 73 appearances with the Fever, she has shot 42.4% from 3-point range on 3.8 attempts per game.

Kelsey Mitchell, Tyasha Harris, Myisha Hines-Allen, and Mercedes Russell are also headed to free agency. The Fever have seven players under contract for 2027 and $3.6 million in cap space.

The WNBA's free-agent negotiating period opens Feb. 4.