Sophie Cunningham has become a major talking point in the WNBA after she spoke about ‘protecting’ young girls from competing against biological males in women’s sports.
She has been a controversial figure in the eyes of some, but her popularity has grown a great deal since she spoke out, including surpassing her Indiana Fever teammate, Caitlin Clark, in Instagram followers.
Now, Riley Gaines has suggested that it would be ‘rigged’ if Cunningham is not crowned the Female Athlete of the Year in 2026.
Riley Gaines thinks Sophie Cunningham should be Female Athlete of the Year
Speaking to Benny Johnson, Gaines claimed that Cunningham has ‘favourability’ with at least 90 percent of sports fans and also commented on her growing brand before suggesting Sophie should be the Female Athlete of the Year.
When asked if the Fever player should earn that accolade, she said: “Outside of her bravery, let’s take away that for a second.
“Her favourability rating, if that’s a good way to put it, is like 95% of sports fans, and that’s really, really rare in male and female sports, to have someone who, 95%, I would imagine, certainly at least 90 percent of people can really rally behind.
“Look at what her stock has done. She came out with this new shoe with Adidas. It sold out within like moments of every size. Her stock is there. Her brand is there. Her singing at the bar, Toby Keith, red, white, and blue was the most like iconic thing ever. And you don’t see that, especially in female athletes. So absolutely, if she’s not female athlete of the year, it’s rigged.”
Cunningham and the rest of the Fever side will now turn their attention away from any off-court debate to focus on a game against the Connecticut Sun this Friday.
They will then have a couple of weeks off before playing their final four WNBA matches of the regular season in September.
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