{"id":26011,"date":"2026-08-03T11:24:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T06:24:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=26011"},"modified":"2026-08-03T11:24:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T06:24:20","slug":"wnba-coach-protests-sophie-cunningham-by-wearing-trans-kids-belong-shirt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=26011","title":{"rendered":"WNBA Coach Protests Sophie Cunningham By Wearing \u2018Trans Kids Belong\u2019 Shirt"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"><video id=\"35dTSSig\" poster=\"https:\/\/content.jwplatform.com\/thumbs\/35dTSSig-720.jpg\"><\/p>\n<p><\/video><br \/>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Minnesota Lynx coach\u00a0<strong>Cheryl Reeve<\/strong> took a not-so-subtle shot at <strong>Sophie Cunningham\u00a0<\/strong>by wearing a t-shirt declaring &#8220;Trans Kids Belong&#8221; on Sunday when her team played Cunningham&#8217;s Indiana Fever.<\/p>\n<p>The shirt was an obvious dig at Cunningham, who has been both praised and condemned since telling ESPN last month she does not believe biological boys who have transitioned should be allowed to play against girl athletes. Reeve wore the shirt under her sports coat.<\/p>\n<p>The shirt was clearly visible on the ESPN broadcast, and play-by-play announcer <strong>Ryan Ruocco<\/strong> noted she was wearing it &#8220;in support of trans kids.&#8221; ESPN then played footage of Cunningham and Reeve in what appeared to be a fairly animated conversation before the game.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5747608\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5747608\" class=\"wp-image-5747608 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/am14.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2026\/08\/cunn-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Sophie Cunningham talks to Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve before the game on Sunday. \" width=\"2560\" height=\"1458\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5747608\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">(Photo Credit: ESPN)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>ESPN commentator and WNBA legend <strong>Rebecca Lobo<\/strong> suggested viewers listen to the &#8220;incredibly thoughtful&#8221; comments Reeve made on Saturday, where the coach said it was &#8220;problematic&#8221; some people believe &#8220;transgender athletes are the biggest problem in women&#8217;s sports.&#8221; Reeve continued venting, saying it was &#8220;bothersome&#8221; there is a &#8220;faction of people in our country that are making this a massive issue.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Cunningham has been at the center of a media firestorm since her much-publicized <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/wnba\/story\/_\/id\/49306657\/sophie-cunningham-finger-point-indiana-fever-wnba\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">ESPN profile<\/a> in July.<\/p>\n<p>Here is the comment that sparked the whole saga:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>\u201cI got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I\u2019m like, \u2018I never once said that,&#8217;\u201d [Cunningham] says. \u201cI think that I am here to extend love. But I also think with that love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn\u2019t have to go against biological men.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>She later\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DbJM_axGhAp\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">doubled down on her remarks,\u00a0<\/a>following some blowback from players, fans, and pundits.<\/p>\n<p>Plenty of other fans have supported Cunningham, and her Adidas shoes became\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.si.com\/fannation\/sneakers\/news\/sophie-cunningham-adidas-shoes-skyrocket-on-resale-market\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">a must-have item for many of them. <\/a>One of those fans who went to watch Cunningham play last week was berated by Seattle Storm co-owner\u00a0<strong>Celeste Keaton<\/strong>, who called the teen fan and her friend\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/sports\/seattle-storm-owner-suspended-by-wnba-for-calling-young-indiana-fever-fans-wearing-anti-trans-shirts-fcking-insane\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">\u201cf*cking insane.\u201d\u00a0<\/a>Keaton was suspended over the viral incident.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5747614\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5747614\" class=\"wp-image-5747614 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/am14.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2026\/08\/finalshirt.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1959\" height=\"1068\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5747614\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Reeve&#8217;s shirt (Photo Credit: ESPN)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Cunningham controversy kept rolling into the weekend, with the Fever PR director <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/sports\/sophie-cunningham-question-spurs-wnba-pr-to-shut-down-interview-sends-indiana-fever-teammates-fleeing\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">shutting down a post-game interview<\/a> on Friday the moment Cunningham&#8217;s name was mentioned.<\/p>\n<p>A rally in support of Cunningham took place before the game on Sunday, with attendees like Outkick&#8217;s <strong>Riley Gaines<\/strong> and former NBC Sports reporter (and current Minnesota Republican governor candidate) <strong>Michele Tafoya\u00a0<\/strong>joining in. The rally \u2014 which was in front of the Target Center in Minneapolis \u2014 was then met by a counter-protest.<\/p>\n<p>Cunningham linked up with Gaines\u00a0for a picture after the game.<\/p>\n<div class=\"embed_container\" id=\"750fa3451752983028618eb113828b8a\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The WNBA can&#039;t silence this. <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/sophaller?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@sophaller<\/a> knows what matters. <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.w.org\/images\/core\/emoji\/17.0.2\/72x72\/1f44f.png\" alt=\"\ud83d\udc4f\" class=\"wp-smiley\" style=\"height: 1em;max-height: 1em\" \/> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/FZgCITHKJw\">pic.twitter.com\/FZgCITHKJw<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; OutKick (@Outkick) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Outkick\/status\/2084004839416078556?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<p>And if you&#8217;re interested in the actual basketball side of things, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/wnba\/boxscore\/_\/gameId\/401857107\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lynx beat the Fever<\/a> 108-100. Cunningham scored 3 points (1-2 FG, 1-1 FT), grabbed 1 rebound and dished out 2 assists in 23 minutes of action.<\/p>\n<p>Watch Reeve&#8217;s comments above via Fox News.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\/media\/sports\/wnba-coach-protests-sophie-cunningham-by-wearing-trans-kids-belong-shirt\/\">WNBA Coach Protests Sophie Cunningham By Wearing \u2018Trans Kids Belong\u2019 Shirt<\/a> first appeared on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mediaite.com\">Mediaite<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><script async src=\"\/\/www.instagram.com\/embed.js\"><\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Minnesota Lynx coach\u00a0Cheryl Reeve took a not-so-subtle shot at Sophie Cunningham\u00a0by wearing a t-shirt declaring &#8220;Trans Kids Belong&#8221; on Sunday when her team played Cunningham&#8217;s Indiana Fever. The shirt was an obvious dig at Cunningham, who has been both praised and condemned since telling ESPN last month she does not believe biological boys who have&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":26012,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/am14.mediaite.com\/med\/cnt\/uploads\/2026\/08\/cunn-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-26011","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-newsweek-trending"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26011","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26011"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26011\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/26012"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26011"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26011"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26011"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}