WNBA Player Sophie Cunningham Responds to Criticism with 'Suck It'

WNBA player Sophie Cunningham has responded with a defiant "suck it" to a recent column that suggested the Indiana Fever should move on from her. The criticism, published in The Athletic, argued that Cunningham's outspoken views and the resulting attention had become a distraction, calling her "too combustible."

Cunningham addressed the backlash on a recent episode of her podcast, "No Hesitation with Sophie Cunningham & Drew Hanlen." She stated that she no longer allows outside opinions to affect her, saying, "If you’re going to live by the praise, you’re going to die by the hate."

Her co-host, Drew Hanlen, characterized the column as an "absolute hate piece" and disputed its assertions regarding Cunningham's basketball value. Hanlen pointed to her performance statistics, including ranking fourth among WNBA bench scorers, being a top-five three-point shooter, and having a 60.8% effective field goal percentage, which he stated ranked fourth in the league. He argued that teams would value a player with these statistics, especially one who also contributes as a protective teammate, a role acknowledged even within the critical column.

Cunningham, who is heading into unrestricted free agency after two seasons with the Fever, has been a focal point for controversy due to her stance on transgender athletes participating in women's sports. This stance previously led to demonstrations outside of Fever games. She has maintained that her contributions extend beyond traditional statistics and that she is effective in ways not always reflected on the stat sheet.

Cunningham averaged 7.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 1.2 assists during the regular season, shooting 41.9% from three-point range across 43 appearances. Hanlen emphasized that focusing solely on negative aspects while overlooking her statistical contributions and team value was disingenuous.