Brett Cooper — Sophie Cunningham Is Proof Cancel Culture Is Over

So over the last two days, I have been watching people on the Internet absolutely lose their minds over WNBA, darling Sophie Cunningham, saying the biological men should not be in the locker rooms of biological women that they should not be competing against young female athletes, crazy idea. I know in 2026, that is very controversial to say. Now, what is even better is that when she was pressed after making these comments, She did not back down. She did not cower or apologize. No, in fact, she doubled down. But that is not surprising. When you look at the way that she has been treated over the past 5 years. And so I think what we can take away from Sophie's story, is that the left's constant outrage campaigns, their constant attempts to be little people to try to destroy them and their reputations to make them feel so small, and so weak, and so powerless, is actually accomplishing exactly the opposite of what they intend. And when you constantly complain, and screech, and attempt to destroy. When you try to back strong people into a corner, you might just make them bolder. Now, before we dive into Sophie's story, I want to thank you guys so much for being here, make sure to subscribe to the channel if you have not already. And of course, ring that notification bell if you want to stay up to date on everything that we upload here on the channel. Alrighty, so before we talk about the recent comments that are going viral all over social media. We need a little backstory on Sophie Cunningham and all the things that have happened to her during her career in the WNBA. Because this is not her 1st time treading into treacherous waters with the online mob. So the player Sophie Cunningham has been in the WNBA for a bit, but in terms of her widespread notoriety, especially online, she really took off last year after an altercation with fellow player J.C. Sheldon. So Sophie plays for the Indiana fever, like Caitlin Clark, and they were playing against the Connecticut Suns back in 2025, and for essentially the entire game, Suns players had been ganging up on Caitlin Clark, which unfortunately, we've talked about this before, but that is something that was happening a lot over the last couple of years. And towards the end of the game, Suns player, JC Sheldon, literally poked Clark in the eye. And so with seconds of spare at the end of the game, Cunningham literally came up from behind, grabbed Sheldon, pulled her to the ground, resulting in a flagrant foul, and her being removed from the game, and here are those two moments you can see them happening back to back. You can see Caitlin Clark, she's number 22. She is walking away. She's pulling her face down from her eye. She's obviously in pain, and then they're gonna cut to what Sophie Cunningham did in response. Oh, straight down to the ground, and then it turned into an all out girl fight after the buzzer. So, obviously, like, pretty badass. Most people on the internet were obsessed. They were so happy to see somebody standing up for Caitlin Clark. That moment went ridiculously viral, all over TikTok, all over X. She was praised for standing up for her beloved teammate, and from there, the partnerships and the sponsorships just started rolling in. I also think she gained almost like close to a 1000000 followers overnight on TikTok after that moment happened. So literally, even though she'd been playing for a while, she exploded on the scene on the internet overnight. But with fame and positivity also comes the Bitter Trolls and the Bitter Trolls did arrive as well. As her fame grew, the detractors claimed that she was only finding success because she was white. Obviously, the only reason she was going viral was because she was white and attractive. Meanwhile, black players like Angel Reese were getting called aggressive and thuggish or ghetto for having similar dominant behaviors on the court, and it just wasn't fair. For example, in a recent ESPN piece. By way, this is also the source of the transcontroversy, but we will get to that. But in that same ESPN article, a Michigan professor who, by the way, is the director of the Center for Race and Ethnicity in sport at the university, said, the moniker that has often been associated with Sophie is that she is the enforcer. Black female athletes, when they're too aggressive, it's labeled as classless or dangerous. That's hostile, that's violent. That language matters, Armstrong says. It tells a story. It tells a different kind of story, depending on the protagonist. TLDR, depending on whether they are white or black is what she's saying. There have been black players that have had the enforcer moniker. They didn't get endorsements with Ring or ADT or Vivint. None of those came to them. We didn't see the same type of media clamoring to them to represent their brands to be their endorsers. Who Cunningham is white, feminine, presenting. Yes, she doesn't look like a butch lesbian, which she walks out of the court, just saying, and in line with traditional beauty norms, Armstrong notes. And justice critically who Caitlin Clark is, helped set the tone for what Cunningham did last season and how it was received. So because she is white, because she is attractive, because she is feminine, people liked the fact that she stood up for her teammate and they like the fact that she plays in a strong, aggressive way. All right, now 1st of all, just to respond to the initial part of her argument. Those general players that you are talking about, the nameless players that you are lamenting over, they did not get sponsorships because we don't know who they are. I'm sorry, but we literally don't. You don't even list their names. Who are the people that should be getting sponsorships? Like, objectively, there are not a ton of people comparatively. who watched the WNBA. That is growing, which is great, thanks to people, like Sophie Cunningham and Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese, which we will get to her. But who are the people we don't know them? Like, if those nameless people that you feel like deserve the same things that Toby Cunningham is getting, those black players? If they had a big viral, amazing moment, I'm sure that more people and more brands would be interested, maybe clips go viral because of race, because of attractiveness, maybe they don't, but I'm sorry, it is not just blatantly, Sophie's whiteness and her femininity that makes her attractive to brands, it is her relationship with the audience, with her fans, with the people who respond to her online. Case in point, Angel Reese, a black player, who also gets called aggressive for better or four, she's had a lot of viral moments as well. And guess what? Because she goes viral, because she is notorious, infamous in some ways, she works with Reebok, and beats by Dre and Amazon, and Reese's Peanut Buttercups, and McDonald's, and Barbie. Like, come on, people. It's not like she gets no sponsorships. That is a black woman, a black female player, appear Sophie Cunningham, and she has very similar opportunities. But I would argue, and you can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think she was getting opportunities like that before Sophie Cunningham went viral. So in my opinion, my read on the situation is you are just continuing to look for something to be angry about. You are continuing to use race as a way to divide the women in this league, to divide the fan base and make it political. But in all actuality, these brands are excited about players that are going viral. They are excited that people are watching the WNBA and they want to be a part of that. They want to be attached to those lightning rod figures. Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese is one of them, but also Sophie Cunningham. Now, on top of that, personally, I would argue that the situation with Sophie is also different because it's connected to Caitlin Clark, and she was already embroiled in, unfortunately, racial controversies because she was connected to Caitlin Clark. Like, for the last few years, people have been actively targeting and roughing up Caitlin Clark. They have been resenting her, even though she was bringing global attention to their sport and to the league, they claimed that it was her race and not her talent that was bringing attention. And at that point, obviously, the poke in the eye. So if he had enough and she started defending her. And so in addition to it just being an amazing cool moment, I think the brands and fans responded to her, because they wanted to see somebody big and bullish stand up for their beloved player who they felt had been treated unfairly. She was a hero in that story, and what brand, what fan, does not want to take part in a hero's journey. And also, yeah, we're not gonna lie. It doesn't hurt that she is tall, blonde, and hot, and has a great personality off the court. She's not pissy. She's joyful. She clearly loves the game, and that, my friends, goes a long way smiling. I know, I know, it's the, you know, feminist thing. Dont tell me to smile. Smiling goes a long way. And if you want to call that white privilege, if you want to call it pretty privilege, go for it. I don't care, it is 2026. We are bored of that. I am not playing your games anymore. I'm not going to apologize for any of that. Anyway, needless to say, the online chatter, the response to her encounter with JC Sheldon did not help the white privilege accusations, and the attacks on her just continued to get worse. When this is how she responded to a reporter, asking about how the league, meaning the WNBA, could support players being attacked and criticized by fans specifically on the topic of race. Just watch. What resources does the league provide for you guys as players to kind of help you try to filter through some of the hate and things that negative things that come through on social media? Um, you know, I think that honestly, I don't know what our league does to help with that, um, if they really do anything, you know, you can put out statements as much as you want. But at the end of the day, you're in an entertainment business, that's when mental toughness comes in. If you're gonna live by praise, you're gonna die by the hate. And so I think that's on the individual person, um, to have mental toughness. Some people can deal with it, some people can't. And I think you can see the ones who can. And unfortunately, there are some who can't, and it's not beneficial to them, but you can't control what other people say or what other people do, all you can do is control yourself, how you treat people. Um, speak up, uh, you know, and support people who, you know, maybe don't have a voice or don't, um, have the courage to do that, but, you know, it's just, it's one of those things during the entertainment business, and you have to expect it. I mean, that is the perfect answer. She's being kind. She's saying, you know, we can support people who are not as strong, they feel like they don't have a voice, but at the end of the day, you are in the entertainment business. And I think the best line in there, that if you're going to live by praise, you will die by the hate, meaning you cannot let that define you. I think something that's been really helpful for me, being an online person in sharing my opinions, is just having to constantly remind myself because I certainly am a people pleaser. Like in my personal life, guys, I have had to deal with being a doormat. And so actually doing the show and making videos has been an incredible thing for me over the last couple of years and it's made me much bolder and much stronger even in my personal life, but you just have to constantly remind yourself that you're never going to make everybody happy. You are never going to please every single individual in the world. And so why try? Just be yourself and your community will find you. And so and that is what she's saying. So TLDR, she's saying, toughen up, buttercup. And also, it's an individual problem. You gotta figure it out for yourself. It is not a league problem. When you were going to see why that pissed off the racial detractors. 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They were speaking out against her and the league and they said, dear WNBA, bigoted, homophobic, and racist attacks on social media, and otherwise are not outside noise. There's something that the black and LGBTQ plus players in your league should have to increase their mental toughness to endure. You can and should address the issue with intentionality, strategy, and courage. So they are, quote, tweeting the WNBA. They're saying, you know, you should do more, but they are also quote tweeting Sophie Cunningham and saying, this is a bad representation. You should not have to just toughen it up. We do not agree with her, and by you not doing anything, you are siding with her, and she's being insensitive, and so you have to do something about it. Now, when I 1st read this tweet, I was genuinely confused because I loved Sophie's answer so much. I was like, why is this even an issue? Why are people so angry at her? Why are there all of these comments agreeing with the MLK Jr. Foundation? Why people so pissed? And then it clicked. And it actually makes sense why they would want the WNBA to fix the issue rather than just letting it ride on the individual shoulders because, remember, guys, back in 2020, the Smithsonian told us that rugged individualism was a sign, it was a trait of whiteness, which you can see right here, rugged individualism, the top, top aspect and assumption of whiteness and white culture in the United States, according to the Smithsonian. I'm sorry, I just had to bring that up again because it was so insane. I cannot believe that we lived through 2020 and live to tell the tale. Anyway, moving on. So the point I am trying to make here is, again, she has been in hot water before. She has been accused of having pretty privilege and white privilege, not being sensitive to those things. Her lesser charges have also been liking content in support of Donald Trump, posts that criticized vaccine mandate. She also follows some conservative accounts on social media, which, of course, people have watched like a hawk and reported on TikTok. Or young girls in sport who shouldn't have to go against biological men. Just a second. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. She got her talking points from a person that she follows on Instagram. Riley Gaines, the anti-transactivist who finished 5th and has made her career off of that very finish. And then selfie. Oh, yes, that's right. That's right. Let's follow the trend here. She also follows Charlie and Erica Kirk's turning point USA. Don't get it twisted. Man, I cannot imagine being an adult and wanting to subject young women to male genitalia. I cannot imagine being an adult and wanting to subject young children to gender confusion that could leave their bodies with irreversible damage that could render them sterile, unable to have any kind of sexual pleasure, unable to orgasm later in their life. I just cannot imagine doing that. See, AC, it works both ways actually. The majority of people in the comments were agreeing with this man. They were very pissed at Sophie Cunningham, but one person said, aha, wow, so she can't follow people without people questioning her opinion. I follow people on both sides. Like, genuinely, I don't know what Sophie Cunningham's politics are, just based on what I am seeing and seeing people talk about the things that she likes. I'm guessing that she is probably more right leaning. She is also a woman of faith, so that makes sense. But even though I talk about politics and I am a more political figure, like that's what people know me as, that is not how I filter my daily life. I cannot imagine living a life like that, where I see somebody, and before I can determine whether I want to be a fan of theirs, whether I'm going to get angry or happy. I have to go and look at their their Instagram follows. Chill out. Genuinely, just chill the heck out. Now, another commenter on TikTok reply to that person and said, I want you to take a step back. Following people means subscribing to see their content. It influences you because you are choosing to adopt it. If those opinions happen to be bigoted or something, you may end up having rose colored glasses for it. How could that person be bigoted because you follow them and there's no way that you're bigoted? Right? I mean, come on, guys. come on. I'm just over it. And also, what did these people think was actually going to happen here? As they leave angry comments as they tear through her follows and make expose TikToks, like, did they really think that outing who she followed would make her change her belief that they could bully her into submission? Well, probably. Yes. I'm sure that they thought that with 100% certainty because in the past, over the last 7 years or so, 10 years, honestly, that has worked. The mob, especially online, was able to bully people into silence and cowardice. They were able to threaten your job and reputation and actually follow through with it. They preyed on the belief that anyone who disagreed with them was too scared to push back and would immediately roll over and allow their lives, their values, their convictions to be destroyed. But not anymore, my friends, times have changed, and that strategy did not work for Sophie Cunningham. I'm sorry to inform you, but actually it only emboldened her. And so now to bring this story full circle, this is what she said in the now viral ESPN profile earlier this week. So the author said, you say that she's a MAGA Barbie, wrote the author, as some corners of the internet have taken to calling her. Projection, she says, because of what she looks like and where she's from. She'll weigh in on how to protect women's sports, she says, because she's in that world and feels qualified to speak to that world. I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I'm like, I never once said that, she says. I think that I am here to extend love, but I also think that with love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room or young girls in a sport who should not have to compete against biological men. Snaps for that. But she also insists that none of this is some Rosetta Stone to unlocking the true nature of her political worldview. I'm very much in the middle. I agree with things on both sides. I disagree with things on both sides and that is all I've ever said about my political beliefs, but people love to assume. And the reason why people love to assume an attached labels, and honestly, both sides do this, I've done it, is because people want to feel important, because they want to see your name attached to their beliefs or their cause, because it validates them. And on the flip side, they want to attack you if they see you not agreeing with every single thing that they do because it makes them feel important because it makes them feel like they have skin in the game and they can keep fighting and it's just an endless exhausting cycle. And honestly, guys, like I feel like most normal people. I certainly do, would agree and relate to what she is saying here, falling, somewhere in the middle, agreeing and disagreeing with both sides, on various things, because we're all nuanced, normal individuals, and most importantly, just trying to stay sane and levelheaded throughout it all, trying to stay sane and levelheaded and not compromise your values, have integrity with yourself in the midst of a world that is constantly changing, where there is so much literal misinformation, especially with AI. Like, this is just in the side, but I was putting this episode together and I was doing some research, and I saw all of these articles saying that Sophie Cunningham had actually spoken out about race. And the allegation was that she says something on her podcast being like, the black girls are so upset that we're dominating their sport. There were all of these headlines about it. It was based on a viral AI voiceover that somebody had made. They got 50000 impressions. everybody ran with it. I mean, it is just literally so insane. It is hard to navigate this, and people are doing the best they can. Normal people just trying to stay true to their values and what they believe to be true. I know that all of that is a crazy concept for the angry chronically online. And so obviously, all hell broke loose on all corners of the internet, after she said this, for example, one person said coming out as a piece of shit completely unprompted is certainly a choice. 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Trans women are women. Trans girls, our girls. And perhaps, Sylvie Cunningham, you should worry a little bit more about your shit ass performance on the basketball court and a little less about what trans women are doing. Typical. And Blue Sky, of course, had a field day with one girl saying, F, Sophie Cunningham and all of the transphobes. other person said, anyway, this is my favorite Sophie Cunningham photo, F her, and that's her, I think, when she tore her MCL while playing a game. Another person said, Sophie Cunningham, eat a ton of lettuce challenge, obviously, meaning go eat a bunch of the Taco Bell lettuce and get the absolutely explosive diarrhea disease. Now, I look at all of these posts and I see nothing but hate being spewed. For the majority of posters, there is no logic. There is no scientific backing, refuting her claims, they're not pushing back in any kind of meaningful way. They are just saying, we hate you, you're awful, you deserve to be injured. They call her bigoted and a piece of shit. They say that she is hateful all the while. They sit behind their phones, their little keyboards, and they wish injury and illness upon her. Meanwhile, this is the crazy thing. Sophie is actually making a very milk toast, mild political statement in the year 2026 because actually, more than 70% of Americans agree that men should not be in women's sports, that we should keep them separate, that actually title line was a great idea, and we should not murky the waters. More than 70%. So in terms of politics, this is actually one of these safest things that Sophie Cunningham could say. Off the court, you see videos of her routinely see videos of her spending time with young fans and players. She supports veterans. She is constantly spreading joy. And what are these people doing? They are screeching behind their phones. They were wishing ill upon her. They are calling her a piece of shit for simply expressing an opinion. I'm not sorry about this at all, but it is not normal or stable behavior. Tuish injury upon somebody that you disagree with. And I think that this is exactly, why more and more people are getting turned away from these people and their causes, and instead being so emboldened to speak out against you. Because, I mean, people are gonna hate Sophie Cunningham. They are going to have opinions on her either way. She knows that. And so that is exactly why she doubled down on her opinions. On that same vein in that story with ESPN, you talked about wanting to protect young girls who shouldn't have to go against biological men. Just can you expand your viewpoint on that? I mean, I think I said what I said. I think it's kind of common sense. And I think I'll always believe in that. I think it's really important to protect children. Um, and that's uh, little girls uh, who are also involved in that category. And so, um, I stand on what I said and, um, I always believe that. Yeah, do you see your advocacy on that, like taking any form going forward? You know, I don't know. I didn't I'm not a very political person, but I do have beliefs, I have morals, and I'll always stand on those and be true to who I am. And, um, I, I think people are gonna take it, how they want to take it, but I've never even really said anything about that. And so, uh, when it comes just to protecting young girls in sport and women in sport, um, I feel very strongly about that. I think that's why you have Title 9. That's why you have some of the grades in women's sports. If Title 9 and women's sports weren't protected, then you wouldn't hear about any type of women in sport. And so, I think in the future, it's just really important to protect. And I love that you said it's common sense. Because it is. She didn't immediately cower and go, oh, I'm just, let me know, let me explain, you know, my words were taken out of context. She just said, I said what I said. It's common sense, because it is. The reason why the WNBA exists is to protect women. to make sure that they have a level playing field, so that they do not have to compete against men, so that they have the opportunity to rise and succeed like Sophie Cunningham has. To have these big viral moments, to create huge fandoms that are then bringing attention to the sport that she loves and helping raise other women who want to do the same thing. And so again, at least in my framework, it is common sense. But outside of my framework, it is something, again, that almost 80% of Americans agree with. So yeah, she said what she said. And now, of course, because she doubled down, because she did not apologize and cower after all of the mean tweets and the threats and the pushback from the press, people are demanding that she be suspended. Of course, they go after your reputation, they go after your livelihood, it is just a normal playbook. Somebody said, Sophie Cunningham has to be suspended today. UWNBA can't claim to have no space for hate, and then suspend Sandy Brundello for her comments, but allow Sophie to be wildly transphobic in an ESPN article and skate away without consequences. The punishment must be equal. And listen, if this happened, if Sophie Cunningham did say this 2 years ago, 3 years ago. I think that these people would have gotten what they wanted. I do think that she would be suspended. I think that she would be tar feathered. I have no idea what her response would be, but I think that it would be a very different situation. But instead, because we are, you know, the scales are balancing. We are coming back to normalcy. This is the statement that her team, the Indiana fever, put out today. They said, our players are thoughtful adults with their own perspectives and voices, and those views are their own. We are committed to welcoming fans from every background and treating everyone with respect, and that is what guides us as an organization. Now, some conservatives were pissed off on X because this is all they said. They wish that they had gone further and backed her and said, yes, we support her and agree exactly with what she's saying, but I think that this is totally appropriate and honest for a non-political organization. They are supporting her right to say whatever she wants, to believe what she wants, they are calling her thoughtful, which is wonderful. I'll still saying that they respect their fans from all backgrounds and that they welcome anyone. Now, some people online will say that those 2 things conflict with each other, both sides want the Indiana fever to go further, but I don't believe that they conflict, and I think that this was a great way to respond. And also, if we're just being honest with the NBA. They need all of those fans. They need all the viewers that they can get. So suddenly shutting out people from your league. That could be the worst business decision ever. So I think that this was a really good move. Now, to really wrap up my point here about what the left is doing. Sophie Cunningham, in my eyes, is the perfect embodiment of the political and cultural landscape right now, because this is not 2020 anymore. People do not fear for their lives if they don't post the appropriate black square or the right infographic on their Instagram story. They have been emboldened to stand strong in their beliefs, whatever they might be, against the angry internet mob. They have been emboldened to stand in their beliefs with honesty and kindness. They are comfortable ignoring and even laughing at the screeching online mob because they are just that ridiculous. And honestly, the more that these people screech. The more that they threaten to destroy you, the more that people will be turned away. Because genuinely, who wants to live like that? Who wants to have that kind of anger and vitriol running through your body, 247, and who wants to live a life, being policed by such unstable detractors like the online mob could not be me, and obviously couldn't be Sobey Cunningham