Sophie Cunningham WNBA columnist John Silver, said when asked about the best 10 prospects for the Fever that Cunningham shouldn’t be on the roster and, if she was, she should be waived.
Sportswriter Candace Buckner is receiving heavy resistance from reporters, former players and fans after a column was published, calling on the Indiana Fever to release guard Sophie Cunningham.
“Cunningham has been a distraction off the court, and her unsolicited outspoken takes made her a huge distraction for a team that should have been all about basketball during one of the most exciting seasons in league history, thanks to superstar rookie Caitlin Clark,” Buckner wrote for The Athletic.
“With Cunningham headed into unrestricted free agency, keeping her off the court will help Indiana get back to basketball.”
Within hours, the column attracted sharp criticism on social media and within sports media outlets. ESPN veteran anchor Sage Steele, who interviewed Cunningham on her own daytime show, defended her as having “a lot of hatred” and appreciated Cunningham for being authentic about her beliefs. Former sports broadcaster Linda Cohn wrote that the column’s analysis was “entirely inaccurate.”
The fallout: Some have argued that grounding a talented rotation player over political and cultural issues serves as a ‘chilling effect’ on any open dialogue that might occur in the world of pro sports.
Others, like Buckner, point out that the locker room environment, and fewer media distractions, can be pivotal in laying the foundation for a franchise to contend for championships around a once-in-a-generation talent.
As the Indiana Fever head to free agency, general manager and team ownership must decide on the roster’s depth and the franchise’s direction with Cunningham’s name still a significant thread in the WNBA offseason.
