Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham has never been afraid to share her opinion.
Sophie Cunningham has become the spokesperson for many fans and WNBA players, which has divided opinions right across North America.
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Her stance drew warm praise from conservative figures, but triggered arena boos, court-side protests, and pushback from opposing coaches wearing pro-trans warm-up shirts.
Online discourse grew so toxic that Reddit’s main WNBA community auto-filtered her name to block mass trolling.
And it seems as if she’s not done yet, with WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert up next.
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has drawn heavy backlash from players over revenue sharing, charter flight delays, and her handling of player safety and online abuse.
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And now Sophie Cunningham has given her something else to think about.
Speaking to USA Today, she said: “You do have to have a person in power who is bold, who is confident, who wants the best for the players and not maybe for themselves all the time. So I do feel like, as a whole, that could be a position that’s maybe open at the end of the year, but that’s not my call.
“(Cathy Engelbert’s) done a lot of good things, but with where our league is trying to go, I feel like you just want someone who also wants that. That’s just a hard position to be in, in her shoes, us as players ― we always want more, more, more because we see how good it can be, but … that’s up to Adam Silver at the end of the day.”
Cathy Engelbert’s current contract expires at the end of the 2026 season.
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Replacing a commissioner requires action from NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, who officially appoints the role, alongside board approval from WNBA and NBA team owners.
On the flip side, owners can vote to remove a commissioner early if they lose confidence.
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