Vice President JD Vance at the Phoenix Convention Center on December 21, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Caylo Seals/Getty Images) / Sophie Cunningham #8 of the Indiana Fever pose for a photo during the 2026 Indiana Fever Media Day at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on April 22, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
Vice President JD Vance at the Phoenix Convention Center on December 21, 2025 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Photo by Caylo Seals/Getty Images) / Sophie Cunningham #8 of the Indiana Fever pose for a photo during the 2026 Indiana Fever Media Day at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on April 22, 2026 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)

OAN Staff Sophia Flores 
12:47 PM – Thursday, August 6, 2026

Vice President JD Vance praised Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham for publicly standing up for the protection of women's sports.

During an interview on Fox News' "Ingraham Angle," the vice president weighed in on Cunningham's remarks she made in a July interview with ESPN in which the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) athlete stated that women "shouldn't have to go against biological men."

"Look, sometimes when you're courageous in this country, some of the worst people in the world will try to attack you. What I would tell Sophie and anybody is to keep speaking your mind. You actually are inspiring a dozen people for every person that criticizes you," Vance said.

"We cannot take our country back; we cannot save the United States of America unless you have people of courage who are speaking their mind," he continued. "The thing about courage is it's contagious. When you see one person – even if they have the mob come after them – one person speak their mind in a courageous and honest way, it inspires a lot of people to do the same. So I would tell Sophie to keep going."

 

Cunningham has stated that while she does not like to talk politics publicly, "protecting women's sports" is the one topic she was comfortable speaking out about.

Many critics took her comments as spreading hate against transgender individuals, but she set the record straight, asserting that her words were twisted.

 

"I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I'm like, 'I never once said that,'" she said.

"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 added.

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