The WNBA says it is not associated with the r/WNBA subreddit, which made national headlines over the weekend for appearing to ban mention of Indiana Fever player Sophie Cunningham's name. "The WNBA does not moderate or have any affiliation with the r/WNBA subreddit," a WNBA spokesperson told USA TODAY in a statement. On Aug. 16, Fox News and The New York Post reported a reddit user, Adventurous_Hope_101, shared screenshots revealing an alleged ban on the Fever guard's name in post titles on the site, including any variations such as "sc," "scunningham," "soph" and "sophiacunningham." When the user asked the r/WNBA subreddit moderators why users were banned from posting about Cunningham, the moderator responded, "We filter content based on (Sophie) because it tends to (bring) out trolls and people that (aren't) fans of the W." The user pushed back against the alleged ban, saying it was "ridiculous" fans couldn't post about a player they supported. The moderators told the user, "We have chosen to filter content. If you want to post freely about Sophie, you can go to a different sub." When the user continued to ask questions, they were met with the following response: "You (aren't) even a contributor to this sub, so I suggest you go back to the other WNBA subs. This is our decision. If you keep messaging about this, you will be banned."
On Monday, the r/WNBA subreddit posted a clarification regarding the use of Cunningham's name in the online conversation platform. "Sophie Cunningham content is not banned from r/wnba," the statement said. "Posts about Sophie are welcome when they are related to basketball, including games, highlights, interviews, statistics, marketing endorsements, and other WNBA-related news. Off-court Sophie content can be shared as well." The statement also mentioned r/WNBA was changing the community rules around karma. On reddit, karma is the reflection of the upvotes and downvotes a post receives and comments an individual user makes on a post. Upvotes indicate users believe the content is positively contributing to the community. Downvotes indicate users believe the content is not positive. In the r/WNBA subreddit, users must now have 50 community karma points to post. "This is in place so the subreddit will not be over-ran with trolls or brigaded. And this goes for ANY new post; you must have 50 community karma to create ANY post," the statement added. "These moderation tools are applied to protect the community and are not being used to ban Sophie Cunningham content. Thank you for helping us keep r/wnba focused, respectful, and enjoyable for basketball fans." In recent weeks, the WNBA and Cunningham have been at the center of a national news cycle and debate over transgender athlete inclusion following comments made by Cunningham about "protecting women's sports" by banning transgender women. Since Cunningham's comments, multiple "Support Sophie Cunningham" demonstrations occurred outside Fever games and conversations surrounding the WNBA have intensified. "I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I'm like, 'I never once said that,'" Cunningham 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." Earlier this month, the Women's National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA) released a statement denouncing transphobia and other forms of hate. The WNBA also released a statement, following an anti-hate task force meeting. "Today’s meeting covered a wide range of topics, including ongoing discussions on transgender athletes and the continued hate and vitriol directed at players online. We will continue to engage all league stakeholders in the coming weeks and months," the league said in a statement. "We will approach these important conversations thoughtfully and in alignment with the values of our league. There are no immediate eligibility matters affecting the WNBA, and we strongly denounce the bad-faith efforts to use these topics to demean or marginalize others." This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: WNBA says it has no affiliation with subreddit amid Sophie Cunningham controversy