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See the full story · 4 sourcesJul 9, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) against the Phoenix Mercury in the first half at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Over the past several days, Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham has been in the headlines after she took a very public stand against transgender athletes. However, despite the right-wing stance and the “MAGA Barbie” nickname she has been given, Cunningham claims that she does not necessarily align with the right politically.
While Cunningham may be against transgender athletes competing in women’s sports, she has insisted on multiple ocassions that her political views are “in the middle” with some liberal viewpoints and some conservative.
Cunningham Speaks Out Against Trans Athletes
During a recent interview with ESPN, Cunningham was asked about the “MAGA Barbie” nickname she has recently been given. While she said that the nickname is more projection than reality, given that she is a white girl from Missouri, she did go on to speak out on how to “protect women’s sports.”
“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that,’” she told ESPN . “I think that I am here to extend love. But I also think with that love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”
Cunningham went on to double down on this stance a few days later.
“I said what I said. I think it’s kind of common sense,” Cunningham said earlier this week . “And I think I’ll always believe in that. I think it’s really important to protect children, and that’s little girls who are also involved in that category. I stand on what I said.”
‘In the Middle’
Despite her anti-trans stance, Cunningham has insisted on multiple occasions that her actual political views are “in the middle.”
“All I have to say is I really am right in the middle, and I think a lot of America is like that,” Cunningham said in an interview with The New York Times last year. “In our culture today you have to choose and you have to be an extremist, and that’s just not me. So I agree with things on both sides; I disagree with things on both sides.”
Even in the ESPN interview where she first spoke out against trans athletes, Cunningham insisted that her views were “very much in the middle.”
“I’m very much in the middle. I agree with things on both sides, disagree with things on both sides. And that’s all I’ve ever said about my political beliefs. But people love to assume,” she says.
Aside from her trans sports opinion and a recent opinion she shared speaking out against data centers , Cunningham has not shared much about her political views publicly.
The post Sophie Cunningham claims her political views are ‘right in the middle’ despite trans comments appeared first on The Comeback: Today’s Top Sports Stories & Reactions .
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