Cleveland and Detroit won’t officially rejoin the WNBA until later this decade, but both cities already possess a shared rival: Sophie Cunningham.
Speaking with reporters earlier this week, the Indiana Fever guard reacted to the news that Cleveland (2028), Detroit (2029) and Philadelphia (2030) will be receiving WNBA expansion franchises in the coming years. And in doing so, Cunningham made it clear that she would have preferred to see the league favor what she views as more player-friendly cities such as Miami and Nashville.
“You want to listen to your players, too. Where do they want to play? Where are they gonna get excited to play and draw fans?” the 28-year-old told reporters. “… It’s kind of a hard decision-making situation. But man, I don’t know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or [Cleveland].”
Fever star Sophie Cunningham on the WNBA expanding to multiple new cities over the next few years:
“I don’t know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or [Cleveland]” pic.twitter.com/pncwYpMar3
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) July 1, 2025
Unsurprisingly, Cunningham’s comments didn’t sit well in either city, eliciting reactions from Cavs owner Dan Gilbert (who will also own the Cleveland WNBA franchise), Cavs All-NBA guard Donovan Mitchell and Detroit native Jemele Hill, as well as the cities themselves. Criticisms against the Columbia, Missouri, native ranged from accusations of her having an elitist attitude to a lack of knowledge about the WNBA’s history, considering that Cleveland and Detroit each previously possessed teams.
On Thursday, Cunningham addressed her viral comments for the first time. And while she stands by the idea of the WNBA expanding to more destination cities, she also insisted that she never meant to disrespect Cleveland or Detroit.
“First of all, I know the history of the WNBA. I know that both of those cities have had team before and they got us where we’re at, so I’m thankful for that,” she said. “All I was really getting at was Broadway, the off-court lifestyle and so I think that is really intriguing. I think Miami’s intriguing. That’s all I was getting at.
“I think it would be fun to get some teams outside of the NBA market… I think people totally misread the situation. I would never speak down upon middle-class, blue-collar working people. That’s where I come from. I’m from Missouri. I get I’m in Indiana, and that’s why I’m kind of hinting at Broadway sounds fun, Miami sounds fun. That’s all I was getting at.”
Asked about the reaction to her comments, Cunningham replied: “The people that hype you up are going to be the same people pushing you down. And so for me, I always just kind of stay right here in the middle. I think that was my personal opinion.”
Fever wing Sophie Cunningham offers clarifying thoughts about her comments on WNBA expansion from earlier this week: pic.twitter.com/pkXuXywI6E
— Tony East (@TonyREast) July 3, 2025
To be clear, residents of Cleveland (like this author) and Detroit seemed to understand what Cunningham was getting at with her original comments; they just didn’t like having one of the league’s most famous players rain on the parade of this week’s expansion news. Nevertheless, Cunningham is certainly entitled to her opinion, just as the people in those cities are entitled to disagree with her assessment and the timing of her comments.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.