People I Admire: Sophie Cunningham

By Paul Humbert

I admire people who are willing to say what they believe, especially when they know doing so may bring criticism, ridicule, or personal attacks. Sophie Cunningham is one of those people.

Cunningham is a veteran WNBA player and guard for the Indiana Fever. She recently spoke publicly about the importance of protecting women’s sports and preserving fair competition for female athletes.

Her position is simple: girls and women should not be required to compete against biological males.

Cunningham has also made it clear that her position does not come from hatred. She has said that she wants to “extend love,” but believes that “with that love is truth.” She describes herself as politically in the middle, agreeing and disagreeing with positions on both sides.

That sounds like a thoughtful and reasonable approach. Yet simply stating her opinion has made her the target of an extraordinarily personal backlash.

A recent Guardian commentary did not just disagree with Cunningham’s position. It attacked her popularity, appearance, race, sexuality, motives, and intelligence. The author portrayed her as someone exploiting division for personal gain and dismissed her defense of women’s sports as part of a broader political agenda. The Guardian commentary is a powerful example of what can happen when someone challenges the prevailing political culture.

That reaction is exactly why I admire Sophie Cunningham.

It takes courage to speak when you know people may deliberately misrepresent what you say. It takes strength to remain composed when disagreement turns into personal attack. Most importantly, it takes conviction to continue standing up for young women and girls when remaining silent would be much easier.

We should be able to debate difficult issues without questioning one another’s humanity. We can treat every person with dignity while still recognizing the biological differences that make separate women’s athletic competition necessary. Those two principles are not incompatible.

I do not have to agree with every opinion someone holds to admire courage, loyalty, and a willingness to stand firm. Sophie Cunningham has demonstrated those qualities in a public arena where conformity is often rewarded and dissent can come at a cost.

That is why Sophie Cunningham is someone I admire.