Sophie Cunningham grows used to being in the spotlight

Sophie Cunningham is used to it by now – the mix of cheers and jeers she gets when she enters a WNBA game on the road. She’ll be ready for it again in Toronto Tuesday night, when she faces the Tempo.

She’s not an all-star, but the reserve guard for the Indiana Fever has become one of the WNBA’s most recognized players. She has 3.8 million followers on TikTok, and 3.9 million on Instagram. The 30-year-old has also been a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, a podcaster and a ring girl for UFC. She’s a player who has absorbed the kind of hard fouls that make nightly sports highlight shows, and dished out plenty too, usually in defence of her teammates, like superstar Caitlin Clark.

Earlier this season, Cunningham had the on-court finger point that inspired thousands of memes.

Almost a month ago, she publicly expressed her belief that biological males should not compete in girls and women’s sports. Her comments attracted some new fans from those who agree. She’s also received hatred from those who felt it was anti-trans.

“Now I’m a little bit used to it. You kind of miss the peace and quiet. You miss being able to just come in and play. I’m sure you guys will hear a lot of boos and a lot of cheers tonight,” Cunningham said to a large media scrum in Toronto during the Fever’s morning shootaround.

Cathal Kelly: Everyone but the WNBA has an opinion on what the league should say about transgender participation

Her outspokenness has prompted some fans to show up at games wearing T-shirts about transgender women participating in women’s sports – and in some cases security have told them to cover up. The WNBA has faced growing scrutiny to make a public stance on the issue, despite the fact a transgender woman has never played in the league.

The red-hot Fever arrive in Toronto to play the Tempo at a time when Cunningham and her team are making headlines nightly. Some think she’s a dirty player. Others love her. Some disagree with her views, others consider her brave and unapologetic.

“I’m blessed to be in the position I’m in,” Cunningham said. “That’s what sports is: rivalries, competitiveness. A lot of people shy away from that. I think that’s what it’s all about. That’s the fun.”

She’s averaging 8.7 points and 2.4 rebounds per game, and doesn’t claim to be something she isn’t. She talks about playing a secondary role to Fever stars like Clark, Kelsey Mitchell and Aliyah Boston on a team that has won eight of its last 10 and is driving hard for playoff positioning. But Cunningham admits her time in the spotlight this past year has made life different.

“I can’t really go anywhere without people – I don’t want to say bothering because most people are so friendly and they just want to meet you – but you also have to keep your head on a swivel too, depending where you’re at,” she said. “But I’m blessed to be on this platform in the position I’m in.”

Cunningham, who said she’s a first-timer to Canada on this trip, said she perplexed a server at a Toronto restaurant when she asked for steak sauce.

She also made a TikTok video in Toronto with teammates Caitlin Clark and Lexie Hull of the three sampling various Canadian snacks, from all-dressed and ketchup chips to Coffee Crisp bars and maple cookies.

Cunningham called Toronto Tempo star Marina Mabrey “phenomenal” and said that despite being on a 10-game losing streak, the expansion team always looks like it is in every game.

The Tempo have been plagued by injuries and sit in 13th place among the WNBA’s 15 teams. However, while facing the fifth place Fever Tuesday night, they finally get one of their top players back, Brittney Sykes – Mabrey’s other half of the million-dollar Toronto backcourt.

“When you have a team that’s still trying to find its identity, that’s sometimes the hardest team to play,” said Cunningham of the Tempo. “Because they have engines that aren’t going to quit.”