Stefanie Dolson’s message to Sophie Cunningham: ‘Trans rights are human rights’
Seattle and Indiana played in the WNBA on Tuesday night and the argument over transgender athletes took center stage.
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Sophie Cunningham made headlines last week after she did an ESPN interview in which she stated that she doesn’t believe trans women belong in women’s sports. Even though no trans women are playing in the WNBA, the Indiana Fever player decided it was a good time to get her opinions about the topic out in the open as she gets more famous.
Cunningham’s Fever visited the Seattle Storm on Tuesday, and Storm center Stefanie Dolson offered a pretty clear response to Cunningham with her pre-game attire.
@AlaskaAir | Arrivals pic.twitter.com/IruaBJsY4J— Seattle Storm (@seattlestorm) July 29, 2026
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Dolson walked into the arena wearing a shirt that stated: “Trans rights are human rights”. Dolson didn’t comment further before or after the game, but the shirt did all of the talking.
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In a league that has so many LGBTQ players and coaches, and with a large section of the fans who watch the league also identifying as LGBTQ, it was important for Dolson to let everyone know that Cunningham’s opinion on the trans topic is not the only one in the league.
Dolson is a two-time All-Star and won a WNBA championship with the Chicago Sky in 2021. She came out as LGBTQ in 2016.
Cunningham’s comments addressed her fear that women would have to play alongside trans women and be in the same locker room as them after games.
“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans,” Cunningham said. “And I’m like, ‘I never once said that. I think that I am here to extend love.’
“But I also think with that love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”
There were also small pockets of protestors for and against both sides outside of Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle before the game.
Indiana coach Stephanie White, who is LGBTQ, was asked in a news conference about the pro-Cunningham supporters outside of the stadium before the game. A PR representative for the team jumped in the middle of the questioning and abruptly cut off the interview.
“Neither our organization nor Sophie had any knowledge of this demonstration and no contact with its organizers,” the PR rep said.
The PR representative then said that if there were any more basketball questions, they would take only those. This is like when Paige Bueckers was asked about her relationship with her girlfriend and teammate, Azzi Fudd, before the season and wasn’t allowed to answer.
The WNBA clearly has not adjusted yet to the increased scrutiny and media attention that has come with higher viewership numbers.
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