Political activist Riley Gaines has claimed that WNBA officials attempted to shut down her support for Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham amid the league’s culture-war.
Gaines opted to attend the Fever’s game on Sunday amid the growing controversy surrounding transgender participation in female sports, which was reignited after Cunningham claimed she wanted to ‘protect young girls’ from ‘biological men.’
Cunningham’s comments have sparked fierce debate in recent weeks and on Sunday opposing head coach Cheryl Reeve made her feelings on the topic extremely clear – after opting to wear a ‘Trans Kids Belong’ t-shirt on the sidelines in Minneapolis.
In recent weeks, fans have been left divided by Cunningham’s comments. While some have cheered her on the court, others have booed. And while some have brought signs praising her, others brought signs to criticize her remarks.
This was all true again on Sunday evening. A plethora of fans were seen – both inside and outside the Target Center – displaying signs regarding Cunningham’s comments.
Among those was Gaines, who announced on the day that she would be heading down to show her support for Cunningham with a custom-made sign.
Political activist Riley Gaines claimed that a WNBA staffer told her to put down her sign which threw support behind star Sophie Cunningham amid the ongoing trans athlete debate
Gaines claimed she was told to remove the sign because it had a name written on it
Gaines attended the game to offer her support to Cunningham amid a wave of backlash following her comments on ‘protecting young girls’ from ‘biological men’ in sports
The sign read: ‘Sophie, Thank You – A Girl Mom.’
However, during the game, retired gymnast and friend of Gaines, Jennifer Sey, revealed that the political activist had been told to put her sign down by staff.
Gaines swiftly reposted Sey’s post on X and added: ‘There were no fewer than 1000 signs in the arena. Most with trans paraphernalia. The only person who was told to put her sign down by WNBA officials was me. Wonder why.’
She later told OutKick: ‘I checked all the sign policies before I went in there. I made sure it was like 11 by 17. That’s the sign size you could have. So, I got a ruler out.’
Gaines, a former collegiate swimmer, went on to detail how she held her sign aloft during the game – only to be swiftly shut down by a staffer, despite other fan signs.
She recalled: ‘I see an arena staffer, someone who’s on the court wearing the all-black official clothing, who points at me and mouths something. I can’t hear him because he’s so far away, but he appeared to say, ‘Put your sign down.’
‘He comes over and he says, ‘You have to take your sign down.’ I’m like, ‘No, I don’t. I checked all the sign policies before I went in there,’ Gaines said.
After asking why she couldn’t show her sign, she explained: ‘He said, ‘Because it has her name on it. It has Sophie’s name on it, so you can’t have that’.
After the game, Gaines took to social media to take aim at the WNBA staffer over the matter
Gaines caught up to the bandwagon in Minneapolis on Sunday, where she was able to grab a courtside photo with Cunningham before Indiana’s 108-100 loss to Minnesota
Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve made a bold statement of her own after she wore a ‘Trans Kids Belong’ shirt during the game, which her team won, 108-100
Cunningham (left) and Reeve (right) were seen having a pre-game discussion on Sunday
‘My whole section at that point, they were outraged. They were like, ‘You can’t tell her she can’t have that. There’s a hundred signs right here with people’s names on it. What do you mean she can’t have it?’
She later revealed that the staffer came back and apologized over the matter.
In the end, Gaines was able to keep hold of her sign and even had Cunningham hold it as they posed for a courtside picture together after the Lynx’s 108-100 win.
Gaines, Cunningham and Sey all posed together, with the two supporters performing Cunningham’s now-iconic ‘point’ towards the camera.
Gaines also shared a picture with Cunningham on Instagram, writing: ‘I show up for @sophie_cham because she shows up for my daughter.’
Though she didn’t comment on it, the Fever star did take time to like Gaines’ post.
Meanwhile, Sey later brought attention to the alleged hypocrisy on the night, after sharing a picture of a fan holding a sign that hit out at Cunningham.
The fan’s sign read: ‘I didn’t think I could dislike anyone more than Caitlin Clark. Congrats Cunningham.’
In her post, Sey wrote: ‘That lady can have a sign saying she doesn’t like Caitlin Clark & Sophie Cunningham but Riley & I can’t have a sign saying thank you to Sophie (@RileyGaines was told she had to put the sign down just after we grabbed this pic).’
Speaking to reporters prior to the matchup, Reeve – who also serves as head coach for USA Basketball’s women’s national team – doubled down on her stance regarding inclusion
The tension on the sidelines carried over to the streets outside Target Center, where demonstrations turned chaotic ahead of tip-off in Minneapolis
Cunningham supporters have been seen in Seattle, Portland and now Minneapolis
Elsewhere on the night, Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve made a bold statement by wearing a ‘Trans Kids Belong’ t-shirt on the sidelines.
Speaking to reporters prior to the matchup, Reeve, who also serves as head coach for USA Basketball’s women’s national team, doubled down on her stance regarding inclusion and criticized the broader national debate.
‘I come from a space of inclusion. The narrative that I think is problematic is to suggest that transgender athletes are the biggest problem in women’s sports.
‘This is what’s bothersome. There is a faction of people in our country that are making this a massive issue,’ Reeve explained.
Reeve’s show of support stands in stark contrast to Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White, who drew online criticism over the weekend after claiming she was ‘not educated enough from a scientific standpoint’ to take a definitive position.
Prior to tip-off, Reeve and Cunningham were seen in deep conversation and, after the game, the Lynx head coach lifted the lid on what their chat was about.
‘I think it’s great,’ Reeve said of the talk. ‘I think both of us understand that we have platforms and we both talked about wanting to, more than anything, educate.
‘There are some things that we have in common, and maybe some things you differ on, just like any issues. I think it’s how you handle things. It was nice to be in person.’
The tension on the sidelines carried over to the streets outside Target Center, where demonstrations turned chaotic ahead of tip-off in Minneapolis.
Rallies organized outside the arena brought opposing groups face-to-face as supporters of Sophie Cunningham clashed directly with pro-trans demonstrators
A person holds a sign after comments made by Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham
Rallies organized outside the arena brought opposing groups face-to-face as supporters of Sophie Cunningham clashed directly with pro-trans demonstrators.
The situation quickly escalated into a physical altercation when a female Cunningham supporter was captured on video snatching a t-shirt out of the hands of a pro-trans demonstrator.
In response, a group of pro-trans protesters swarmed the woman, wrestling the shirt back from her grasp as shouting erupted between the two sides.
Target Center security guards and arena staff were forced to intervene immediately to separate the opposing factions and restore order before the clash could intensify.
