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9 hours ago
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As the WNBA prepares to welcome Detroit and Cleveland teams back into the league, Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham has been one of the most vocally opposed to the move. Earlier this week, Cunningham went viral for comments, where she expressed skepticism that players would be "excited" to play in those two cities.
Now, after days of a heated reaction from fans and the cities themselves, Cunningham took the time to clarify what she meant. The guard spoke to reporters ahead of the Fever's home game against the Las Vegas Aces, saying that her comments were misinterpreted.
"First of all, I know the history of the WNBA. I know that both of those cities have had teams before and got us where we're at, so I'm thankful for that. All I was really getting at was Broadway, the off-court lifestyle," Cunningham said. "I think that is really intriguing. I think Miami's intriguing. That's all I was getting at. I'm thankful for all they've done for our history of the sport."
Cunningham has originally spoken about the expansion on Tuesday, mentioning whether Detroit and Cleveland would be able to draw fans and players — and accidentally said the wrong Ohio city while she said it.
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"It's a hard decision-making situation, but, man, I don’t know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or Cincinnati," Cunningham said Tuesday.
In the days since, outrage has been swift. The City of Cleveland and City of Detroit both clapped back against Cunningham on X; the Visit Detroit tourism account posted a video on Tik Tok in response to Cunningham's comments, captioned, "Tell us you've never been to Detroit without telling us you've never been to Detroit."
Some fans took the time to point out that Cunningham disparaging Midwestern cities was particularly ironic, since she grew up in Missouri and currently lives in Indianapolis.
On Thursday, Cunningham said that she was misunderstood.
"I think people totally misread the situation. I would never speak down upon middle-class, blue-collar working people. That’s where I come from. I’m from Missouri. I get I’m in Indiana, and that’s why I’m kind of hinting at Broadway sounds fun, Sophie in Miami sounds fun. That’s all I was getting at," she said.
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Notably, one of Cunningham's points — both on Tuesday and on Thursday — is that Detroit and Cleveland both have a pre-existing NBA franchise, something that seems to be a boost when it comes to the WNBA's recent expansion. Bids placed by other cities without NBA teams, including a promising Nashville bid backed by Peyton Manning and Candace Parker, seemed to miss out on that leg up.
"I think it would be fun to get some teams outside of the NBA market," Cunningham said Thursday.
Another criticism of upcoming WNBA expansion is that the teams are concentrated to specific parts of the U.S. For example, there are only two teams — Dallas and Atlanta — in the South, even including the incoming expansion franchises.
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Or, as Cunningham said on Tuesday: "You would think that you would want to try to get more of the country engaged in the WNBA."
On Thursday, when asked about the reaction to the comments, Cunningham said that she accepts that people will have their opinions on what she says.
"The people that hype you up are going to be the same people who shoot you down. And so for me, I always just kind of stay right here in the middle. I think that was my personal opinion," Cunningham added. "People are gonna love me, people are gonna hate me, I think that's with anyone. And so that's just what it is."
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