{"id":8077,"date":"2026-07-23T21:05:29","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T21:05:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=8077"},"modified":"2026-07-23T21:05:29","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T21:05:29","slug":"trump-officials-tout-sophie-cunningham-as-role-model-on-trans-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=8077","title":{"rendered":"Trump officials tout Sophie Cunningham as role model on trans issues"},"content":{"rendered":"

The president agrees with the WNBA player\u2019s comments that transgender athletes should not participate in women\u2019s sports, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.<\/strong><\/p>

Read more U.S. intelligence agency quietly cut about 200 jobs since June 1<\/a><\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/figure>\n\n
Sophie Cunningham, who plays for the WNBA’s Indiana Fever, made the remarks in an ESPN article earlier this week and told reporters on Wednesday that she stood by them. (Mark J. Rebilas\/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)<\/figcaption>\n<\/figure>\n

Trump officials are amplifying WNBA player Sophie Cunningham\u2019s comments that transgender athletes should not participate in women\u2019s sports, <\/b>seizing on her remarks to reinforce President Donald Trump\u2019s position on the issue.<\/p>\n

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Thursday that Trump is \u201cfollowing\u201d coverage of Cunningham\u2019s remarks and feels strongly about the issue. Trump moved swiftly<\/a> last year to roll back transgender policies implemented by the Biden administration, including issuing an executive order<\/a> that aimed to ban transgender athletes from competing on girls\u2019 and women\u2019s sports teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to protect women and girls,\u201d Leavitt said at a White House briefing, saying that Cunningham was speaking the \u201ctruth\u201d about transgender female athletes. \u201cAnd the backlash she is receiving from Democrats and left-wing figures across the country is astonishing.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n

Cunningham, who plays for the Indiana Fever, made the remarks in an ESPN<\/a> article earlier this week and told reporters on Wednesday that she stood by them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn\u2019t have to go against biological men,\u201d Cunningham told ESPN. The remarks drew pushback from some other WNBA players while earning praise from <\/b>GOP politicians and high-profile women\u2019s athletes, such as tennis legend Martina Navratilova.<\/p>\n

The Education Department posted an image of Cunningham wearing a crown accompanied by the message that \u201ccommon sense prevails.\u201d<\/p>\n

Polls have shown that most Americans agree with Cunningham. Seven in 10 voters think that transgender women and girls should not be allowed to play on women\u2019s and girls\u2019 school sports teams, according to a June poll<\/a> released by Quinnipiac University.<\/p>\n

Cunningham\u2019s comments drew pushback from some prominent WNBA figures who said that transgender athletes should be allowed to compete in women\u2019s sports and characterized the debate as overblown, citing the relatively small numbers of transgender athletes. There has never been a publicly out transgender female in the WNBA.<\/p>\n

Minnesota Lynx Coach Cheryl Reeve said this week that the attacks on transgender people had become \u201cway more aggressive\u201d and called it \u201csort of sickening\u201d that lawmakers were focusing on what she described as a problem that \u201creally [is] not\u201d one.<\/p>\n

\u201cExclusion is never the answer, separate isn\u2019t equal, and trans lives matter,\u201d Reeve said, adding that she hoped people would become \u201cmore educated\u201d about transgender athletes.<\/p>

Read more Anthony Fauci, Rand Paul to face off again in Senate hearing next week<\/a><\/p>\n

Las Vegas Aces forward Brianna Turner, who was briefly a teammate of Cunningham last year, amplified Reeve\u2019s remarks in a series of social media posts. \u201cBeautifully said,\u201d Turner wrote. \u201cI\u2019ve been an advocate for the trans community since I entered the WNBA. So many takes about them are based on fearmongering and bigotry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cunningham made her initial comments on transgender athletes in a lengthy ESPN article that reviewed her career, playing style and growing public profile. The 29-year-old Cunningham has drawn considerable attention since becoming the teammate of Caitlin Clark, arguably the highest-profile U.S. women\u2019s basketball player, last year.<\/p>\n

Cunningham said Wednesday that her comments were \u201ccommon sense\u201d and intended to protect young female athletes, the Athletic reported<\/a>. \u201cI stand on what I said,\u201d she reportedly said.<\/p>\n

In a statement, the Fever told The Washington Post that the organization supported Cunningham\u2019s ability to express her beliefs.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur players are thoughtful adults with their own perspectives and voices, and those views are their own,\u201d the Fever said. \u201cWe are committed to welcoming fans from every background and treating everyone with respect, and that\u2019s what guides us as an organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

The White House has previously amplified Cunningham through their platforms. Officials last month spliced video of her pointing \u2014 a gesture that went viral when Cunningham did it to another player during a game \u2014 into a clip<\/a> of Trump making a similar gesture.<\/p>\n

Cunningham has declined to identify herself with a specific political party.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m very much in the middle. I agree with things on both sides, disagree with things on both sides,\u201d Cunningham told ESPN. \u201cAnd that\u2019s all I\u2019ve ever said about my political beliefs. But people love to assume.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her recent comments, including posts that commented on<\/a> the drawbacks of building data centers and praised<\/a> military veterans, have drawn speculation that she may be positioning for a post-playing career in politics.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know anything about her political views, but she will be the vice-presidential candidate\u201d by the year 2048, cultural critic Chuck Klosterman predicted on an episode<\/a> of \u201cThe Bill Simmons Podcast\u201d earlier this month.<\/p>

Read more What exactly is a democratic socialist?<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The president agrees with the WNBA player\u2019s comments that transgender athletes should not participate in women\u2019s sports, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8075,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nTrump officials tout Sophie Cunningham as role model on trans issues - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=8077\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trump officials tout Sophie Cunningham as role model on trans issues - 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