Sophie Cunningham Explains Controversial Statement on WNBA Expansion originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham had a strong reaction to the news that the WNBA was expanding to an 18-team league by the end of the decade.
Beyond the previously-announced additions of clubs in Toronto and Portland in 2026 (bringing the tally to 15 teams), the league revealed that it would add new teams in Detroit, Cleveland and Philadelphia.
Cunningham seemed cynical about some of those markets, per Yahoo Sports.
“You just get more opportunities,” Cunningham said, “and so I get that aspect. But I also think that you want to listen to your players, too—where do they want to play? Where are they going to get excited to play and draw fans? I do think that Miami would have been a great one.”
“Like, everyone loves Florida,” Cunningham added. “Nashville is an amazing city. Kansas City, amazing opportunity.”
Kansas City has been floated as a possibility, with Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes said to have interest in commandeering an effort to add a WNBA franchise there.
“But man, I don’t know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or Cleveland,” Cunningham said.
Fever star Sophie Cunningham on the WNBA expanding to multiple new cities over the next few years:
“I don’t know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or [Cleveland]” pic.twitter.com/pncwYpMar3
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) July 1, 2025
Naturally, this irked those markets, to the point where fans were calling Cunningham out on social media and prompting terse responses from her there.
Now, the 6-foot-1 vet has attempted to further explain the reasoning behind her previous statement.
Fever wing Sophie Cunningham offers clarifying thoughts about her comments on WNBA expansion from earlier this week: pic.twitter.com/pkXuXywI6E
— Tony East (@TonyREast) July 3, 2025
“Okay, first of all, I know the history behind the WNBA. I know that both of those cities have had teams before,” Cunningham said, “all I was really getting at is like, Broadway [in Nashville], the offcourt lifestyle [seems fun]. And so I think that is really intriguing, I think Miami’s intriguing.”
During her first season in Indiana, the 28-year-old Cunningham has emerged as a defense-first enforcer off the bench for an ascendant Fever club led by All-Stars Caitlin Clark and Aliyah Boston. She’s averaging a modest 5.6 points, 4.1 boards, 1.0 steals and 0.8 blocks per.
“That’s all I was getting at,” Cunningham noted. “I am thankful for what they’ve done for our history of the sport. I think it would be fun to kind of get some teams outside the NBA market… I think people totally misread that situation, I would never speak down upon middle-class, blue-collar working people, that’s where I’m from.”
Related: Fever’s Sophie Cunningham Had Strong Words After WNBA’s Big Change
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 3, 2025, where it first appeared.