A new video has emerged showing the tense atmosphere that engulfed the Fever’s recent road game in Seattle amid the drama stemming from recent comments made by Indiana star Sophie Cunningham.
Several fans held a rally ahead of Tuesday’s game in support of both Cunningham — who spoke out against trans athletes competing in women’s sports — and a Washington initiative to ban transgender athletes from competing in girls sports in Washington, according to ESPN.
Those Cunningham supporters received a chilly reception inside Climate Pledge Arena, and a short clip that has circulated on social media appears to show the end of one particularly tense interaction.
The video, as published by Fox News, shows the person behind the camera approaching a male fan wearing a Seattle hat as someone appears to say to him: “You leave my daughter alone.”
He waves off those behind him, while someone yells, “Go,” seemingly after the Fever had secured their 105-95 win to improve to 18-11.
The video then cuts to another angle where an unseen person yells, “She is a minor,” before the male fan appears to say, “F–k off,” and wave off those who could not be seen in the video.
A woman in a throwback SuperSonics jersey also makes several inaudible remarks during the short clip.
One unseen person then yells, “Security,” before the male fan calls the alleged group of Cunningham backers “Garbage” and says to “Take the trash out.”
The Cunningham backers tell him, “Go cry,” before the short clip ends.
This video has been revealed alongside two teenage fans alleging that Seattle owner Celeste Keaton called them “f–king insane.”
The two fans wore shirts with “XX-XY” on them from a company whose goal is to “protect women’s sports and spaces,” and also held a sign supporting Cunningham.
Cunningham ripped the owner for her actions Wednesday night on X, and Keaton has since been fined and suspended from attending the team’s next five home games, according to Fox 13 in Seattle.
“I truly believe there is a safe space and love for EVERYBODY,” Cunningham wrote. “Biological girls, biological boys, trans women, and trans men. Everyone is welcome at my table! You can disagree and still be kind. Bravo to those girls for standing up for what they believe. You’ll be hearing from me soon💕 yay for gifts. Truly embarrassing of the co-owner. Unfortunately shows the type of leader she is.”
Cunningham, 29, found herself embroiled in controversy after she made comments against trans athletes competing in women’s athletics earlier this month.
“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that,’” Cunningham told the Worldwide Leader in an article published July 21. “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.”
Cunningham later doubled down on the remarks, labeling them as “common sense” and saying it’s “really important to protect children.”
The veteran certainly has those backing her, including the rally attendees Tuesday that support statewide initiatives IL26-638 and IL26-001 to ban transgender athletes in women’s sports, per ESPN.
There are plenty of detractors too.
Storm fans booed Cunningham throughout Tuesday’s game, and Seattle center Stephanie Dolson — a member of the LGBTQ+ community — wore a shirt with the caption: “Trans rights are human rights.”
The team’s Instagram account shared the photo.
One of the rally’s organizers alleges that Storm players flashed thumbs-down to some Cunningham supporters inside the arena.
Cunningham and the Fever have two more road games — Friday in Portland and Sunday in Minnesota — before they return home next Thursday against the defending champion Aces.
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