{"id":7197,"date":"2026-08-23T06:06:42","date_gmt":"2026-08-23T06:06:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7197"},"modified":"2026-08-23T06:06:42","modified_gmt":"2026-08-23T06:06:42","slug":"sophie-cunningham-supporters-detractors-clash-outside-barclays-center-during-liberty-fever-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/metrotransitreview.com\/?p=7197","title":{"rendered":"Sophie Cunningham supporters, detractors clash outside Barclays Center during Liberty-Fever game"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Rival demonstrations erupted outside Saturday\u2019s New York Liberty game at Barclays Center, as supporters of Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham\u2019s comments about transgender players in women\u2019s sports faced off against opponents before the two teams faced off on the court.<\/p>\n

Read more Tyrone Tracy\u2019s woes continue in Giants\u2019 preseason win over Dolphins<\/a><\/p>\n

Similar to other recent rallies that have followed the basketball star across the country, around 60 die-hard Cunningham fans gathered as more than 100 people in support of trans rights massed nearby \u2014 and were separated by the NYPD and police barricades outside the Brooklyn arena.<\/p>\n

Liberty supporter Dr Elizabeth Fedak, 35, organized the rally in support of Cunningham, who last month caused a firestorm when she told ESPN that she wanted to \u201cprotect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn\u2019t have to go against biological men.\u201d<\/p>\n

She was ripped by some for being \u201ctransphobic,\u201d but gained many followers who thought she was only speaking common sense, including Fedak, who said she was \u201chappy with what Sophie did because I\u2019m a women\u2019s rights advocate.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very important to me that we be able to speak the truth about what a woman is and what our bodies are. I\u2019m here standing for basic material reality, women\u2019s sports were created for women, and it needs to stay that way to ensure fairness,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Fedak, who has a doctorate in math, recalled the case of Payton McNabb where \u201ca male player threw a volleyball at her, at her back,\u201d highlighting that \u201cthe risk of injury for women is much higher when they\u2019re competing against men.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it is a safety issue as well,\u201d she slammed.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Julie Potter, 48, of Bucks County, PA., was furious after her paid scoreboard message was pulled less than 24 hours before Saturday night\u2019s game that she bought 25 tickets for.<\/p>\n

Potter\u2019s scoreboard message wrote \u201cThank you, Jennifer Sey XX XY Athletics will save the day,\u201d \u2014 a reference to the former US gymnast whose company actively campaigns to ban transgender women from competing in female sports categories.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI went back and forth, they issued me a refund, and said what I was saying, \u2018wasn\u2019t in the spirit of positivity.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Potter believes \u201cthat little girls deserve to play sports without having the fear of a man or a little boy in their locker room,\u201d and said she has played sports her entire life and \u201cnever [had] a man near me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI want these little girls to have the same childhood. I will fight tooth and nail for it,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, New York District 8 congressional candidate Vance Bostic told The Post he came out to the arena where Cunningham was playing because it\u2019s important to \u201csupport trans people and trans athletes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to change the way we view trans people in sports and make it more universal for everyone to play in sports,\u201d the 39-year-old candidate said, adding that he wants \u201cto replace Hakeem Jefferies.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked by The Post how that ideal would translate to reality, Bostic said \u201call sports should be mixed with gender\u2026100%\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s how we end the gender segregation that we have in our system, and we deal with the trans debate at the same time,\u201d Bostic added, who claims on his website he is \u201cnot a politician.\u201d<\/p>\n

But when questioned about the possibility of injuries with smaller women being injured by larger men, Bostic admitted \u201cit\u2019s a safety issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Slain Ayatollah Khamenei wanted to end conflict with US through peace talks, Iranian president claims<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI think sports has a modern way with using science to determine how players compete against each other,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I think leaning into that more and getting people who size up physically, that\u2019s how you go about it versus being like, well, we should have men on men\u2019s team, women on women\u2019s team.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can start modernizing the way players play against each other, using modern ways of science to determine their body makeup.\u201d<\/p>\n

As fans entered the Brooklyn arena, pro-trans supporters behind a barricade at the entrance yelled out a barrage of chants including, \u201cban bigots, not trans women,\u201d \u201ctrans people belong in all sports,\u201d and \u201cLiberty fans stand with trans kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the ESPN interview ran, Cunningham didn\u2019t back down, despite the blowback..<\/p>\n

\u201cI got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I\u2019m like, \u2018I never once said that,\u2019\u201d Cunningham said.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, former NBA players Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White declared themselves eligible for the 2027 WNBA Draft as the league is yet to fully outline its policies regarding trans athletes\u2019 eligibility.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter careful consideration and reviewing the current eligibility guidelines, I\u2019m officially declaring myself a @WNBA prospect,\u201d Freedom wrote on X, amassing nearly 50 million views.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cIf simply declaring who you are is all that\u2019s required, then I meet every single requirement necessary to compete in the WNBA.\u201d<\/p>\n

Since Cunningham\u2019s divisive ESPN interview, demonstrators have staged several rallies primarily at arenas before Indiana Fever games \u2014 both for and against transgender inclusion.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

In a statement to ESPN on Aug. 12, the WNBA announced that a task force of team presidents and general managers met to discuss trans athletes but did not make a decision surrounding eligibility rules.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere 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,\u201d the league said.<\/p>\n

In her first comments since the Aug. 12 statement, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert criticized people who she said are trying to \u201csow divisiveness\u201d in the league amid the debate over trans athletes, ESPN reported.<\/p>\n

When asked about the building rally outside the arena before Saturday night\u2019s tip off, Cunningham said \u201cit\u2019s happened every game and so I\u2019ve already kind of stated how I feel about all that.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m focused on New York tonight,\u201d the Fever player said. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd it\u2019s cool that people are using their freedom of speech and doing what they want to do but that\u2019s them, and I\u2019m in my two feet. I\u2019m where I\u2019m at, and so I\u2019m just focused on New York.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Woman dies after plunging her SUV into Long Island swimming pool<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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