Sophie Cunningham‘s comments on transgender athletes have placed an even larger spotlight on the Indiana Fever. According to WNBA analyst Trysta Krick, the atmosphere surrounding Cunningham, her team, and her fans has taken on a different vibe.
Writing a four-part post on Threads, Krick relayed her observations from the Fever’s Friday night matchup against the Portland Fire, which took place at Moda Center.
“I went to the Fever game last night along with the pro Sophie anti trans women in sports rally. Here’s how the vibe was. 1. Weird. Everyone around was tense and you could tell even though the coaches were prepped for the questions they were nervous and frustrated that this was going to be the main pre game topic. 2. Sophie was combative and when she left the 5 minute if that pregame media session she said sarcastically ‘enjoy BASKETBALL tonight guys. Thank you for the BASKETBALL questions'”
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Krick added that Caitlin Clark was not available for both the pre-game and post-game media sessions, and that each Fever participant in these sessions was “only allowed five minutes max” to speak.
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In the final part of her Threads post, Krick described the crowd that gathered outside Moda Center.
“The crowd outside was media trained and a group of sports fans. They said they were the same group in Seattle that organized last game and will go to Minnesota. There was probably 2 dozen women that were part of this well funded group. They wore matching screen printed XX/XY tee shirts and had carbon copy signs that they all were holding. They told me ‘they look the same because we made them all together’.”
Fan rallies in support of Cunningham began earlier this week prior to the Fever-Storm game. Controversy ensued in Seattle when Storm owner Celeste Keaton allegedly berated two fans holding pro-Cunningham signs, leading the WNBA to suspend her from attending five home games.
Reports suggest that another rally is planned ahead of the Fever-Lynx game on Sunday. During a media availability on Saturday, Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve was asked to give her thoughts on the matter.
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Reeve, whose team is at the top of the WNBA standings, said that the participants in these rallies are well within their rights to voice their views.
“I don’t think we should feel like our safe space is being threatened. That’s what I enjoy about the WNBA, and I think we need to continue to safeguard that. I don’t think these demonstrators are not peaceful. Not that I’ve seen all of it, I haven’t heard everything that’s happening. But everyone has a right to peacefully assemble. That’s whether you agree with them or not.”
