Rallies surround Fever-Lynx game after Sophie Cunningham's stance on transgender athletes
Outside the Target Center on Sunday, ahead of the clash between the Minnesota Lynx and the Indiana Fever, politics took center stage.
Protesters and counterprotesters rallied in the wake of Fever player Sophie Cunningham's recent statements on transgender athletes. In July, Cunningham told ESPN, "...I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn't have to go against biological men."
Since then, a group has rallied behind Cunningham at various Fever games. The player has doubled down, calling her stance "common sense" at an away game in Seattle.
"I never once said I hated the trans community, like I said I think there's space for everyone," Cunningham said.
Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve addressed the demonstrations ahead of time on Saturday, the day before the Lynx hosted the Fever.
"To me it's a human's rights issue, every kid has a right to sports," Reeve said. "What gets nuanced is, you know, when you get beyond puberty, when you're in an Olympic sport, when you have scholarships at stake and that kind of thing."
Reeve said that a "faction" of people in the U.S. is responsible for overinflating the issue, arguing that the inclusion of transgender athletes is nowhere close to being one of the bigger questions or issues facing women's sports.
Data shows that there are very few trans athletes who compete at a high level. In 2024, NCAA leadership stated that fewer than 10 trans athletes were on record in a pool of more than 530,000 student-athletes. At present, there are no trans athletes in the WNBA.
In 2025, a Gallup Poll showed about two-thirds of American adults would prefer athletes to compete based on their gender at birth.
Outside the Target Center on Sunday, a spokesperson for Minneapolis police said that about 60 people in total gathered, evenly split between those who said that they were "pro-women" and those who said they were there to support transgender athletes. Police said that nothing occurred that required officers to take action and no one was arrested.
Inside, Reeve and Cunningham were caught on camera having a conversation courtside before the game started. Reeve declined to say exactly what was said, but indicated the conversation was about the recent headlines.
"I think both of us understand that we have platforms and we both talked about wanting to, more than anything, educate. There were some things that we have in common, maybe some things you differ on. Just like any issues. I think it's how you handle things," Reeve said.
The Lynx would go on to beat the Fever 108-100. Boos rang out in the arena when Cunningham had possession of the ball, fans told WCCO.
Kat Rohn, executive director of the LGBTQ+ advocacy organization OutFront Minnesota, said that the political rhetoric surrounding trans athletes is relatively new. They said that it's important to distinguish between the difference in athletic ability between younger people and those at a professional level, stating that there are ways to make sure everyone is included while keeping the playing field fair.
"If we're starting from a place from inclusion, we're at a far better point than a lot of this political rhetoric, which is just seeking to ban kids regardless of age, regardless of biology, regardless of medical interventions at every level of play," Rohn said. "That's just both wrong and unfair."
In June, the Supreme Court paved the way for individual states to ban transgender athletes from competing. Gov. Tim Walz has affirmed that Minnesota's policy is to allow students to compete in line with their identity. The Trump administration is suing the state and the Minnesota State High School League over the policy, alleging that it violates Title IX.
