Story thread · 12 reports / 5 sources

Sophie Cunningham and the cynical economics of the anti-trans athlete

fastcompany.com · 13dShare

Before this summer, the WNBA player Sophie Cunningham was probably most famous for her decision, in the waning seconds of a 2025 game, to more or less tackle an opponent who had poked the eye of her Indiana Fever teammate Caitlin Clark. In the weeks that followed, Cunningham signed a bunch of endorsement deals and picked up more than a million new TikTok followers. She earned a second wave of social media-driven attention this season, when her exaggerated, taunting finger-point at another opponent went sufficiently viral to earn the attention of, among others, the former NFL quarterback Tom Brady and President Donald Trump . It also caught the attention of ESPN, which in a lengthy profile , described Cunningham, a reserve guard, as one of the WNBA’s “most magnetic stars.” Most of the piece, which was published in July, explores the putative contrast between Cunningham’s appearance—“white, feminine-presenting and in line with traditional beauty norms”—and her reputation as an on-court “

First report: Sophie Cunningham draws attention with stylish pregame outfit before Fever win — sportingnews.com, 16d