RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 2 sourcesJul 9, 2026; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) against the Phoenix Mercury at Mortgage Matchup Center. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
The Indiana Fever are on a five-game winning streak following Friday night’s 112-98 win over the Portland Fire, which saw superstar guard Caitlin Clark record her fourth career triple-double.
However, even with the Fever surging and rising in the WNBA standings, the discourse surrounding the team has continued to be dominated by reserve guard Sophie Cunningham’s comments on transgender athletes.
“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that,’” Cunningham said in an ESPN profile on her. “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’s comments have resulted in rallies in support of her being held before each of the Fever’s last two games, and before tip-off on Friday night, head coach Stephanie White addressed her guard’s stance, advocating for inclusion.
“I don’t ever believe that exclusion is an answer,” White said. “I just don’t. I do think, you know, when we think about various levels of sport, various governing bodies of sport and things that go into that, like I said, I’m not— I’m not educated enough at the different levels. I know growing up I played with the boys all the time.”
“Fairness and inclusion can coexist.”
Following White’s take on the subject, someone who is thoroughly educated on the subject, Kristi Miller, who was an Australian Olympian before transitioning, provided facts for why exclusion of transgender athletes is unnecessary.
“As a trans athlete and a former world champion male athlete and a published researcher in how hormone therapy in trans people effects their physical performance I say it is not fair for a man to compete in the WNBA,” Miller started, before delving deeper. “Men on average are stronger, faster and they have greater endurance abilities than women due to the relative % of muscle vs fat, and to power that extra muscle they have more oxygenating cells (haemoglobin) in the blood… ALL of which are controlled by hormone levels they are not set at puberty.
As a trans athlete and a former world champion male athlete and a published researcher in how hormone therapy in trans people effects their physical performance I say it is not fair for a man to compete in the WNBA.
Men on average are stronger, faster and they have greater… https://t.co/NrwoKTI1n9
— Kirsti Miller (@KirstiMiller30) August 1, 2026
“It is fair for a trans woman to compete in the WNBA on a case by case basis for a trans woman who is on hormone replacement therapy.The hormone therapy changes their bodies and reduces their strength speed and endurance levels to female norms. Trans women who compete are on gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) — typically oestrogen plus medications to lower testosterone. This therapy leads to measurable changes in body composition and function. The research suggests for trans women they have worse performance: lung function, efficiency of breathing, and fitness (Braga et al., Saitong et al., and Alvares et al.) when normalised to body size.
“The most comprehensive synthesis to date, a 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis (Sieczkowska et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine) of 52 studies and 6,485 participants, found that trans women on 1–3 years of GAHT had upper-body strength, lower-body strength and relative VO₂ max comparable to cis women, despite higher absolute lean mass. The authors concluded the evidence does not support theories of inherent athletic advantage for trans women over cis women.
“Despite frequent public talk, there is no robust empirical evidence that trans women increase injury risk to cisgender women in sport.”
Miller wrapped everything up neatly.
“Safety concerns are mostly hypothetical. To date, there is no solid evidence that trans women pose a greater injury risk to cis women in sport. Fairness and inclusion can coexist. With thoughtful, evidence-based policies, both can be achieved without resorting to blanket bans.”
The post Transgender Olympic athlete settles Sophie Cunningham debate with science appeared first on The Comeback: Today’s Top Sports Stories & Reactions .
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