MAGA activist Riley Gaines backs booed WNBA star Sophie Cunningham, calling critics ‘disgruntled lesbians’

WNBA player Sophie Cunningham was reportedly booed during recent games over her stance on trans women participating in the league.

MAGA activist Riley Gaines has since backed the Indiana Fever guard, calling her critics “disgruntled lesbians” after attending a WNBA game in Minneapolis.

Cunningham was reportedly booed during games against the Minnesota Lynx in Minneapolis on 2 August and again whilst playing the Toronto Tempos on 19 August.

Riley Gaines reveals Sophie Cunningham was booed

Riley Gaines: I went to the WNBA game in Minneapolis… it was a bunch of disgruntled lesbians. It felt like the entire arena was booing Sophie Cunningham. pic.twitter.com/g142z5zEzN

— Acyn (@Acyn) September 5, 2026

Speaking on Fox News, Gaines recalled the 2 August game, saying: “It felt like virtually everyone in that arena” was booing Cunningham.

She claimed that the WNBA appeared to intentionally show audience members draped in trans flags. “We here know and the general public knows that that is not indicative of real life,” said the far-right commentator.

Rather than framing the issue as being about trans women participating in the WNBA, Gaines said it was about men playing in women’s sport. She claimed that the boos directed at Cunningham were not universal and that many people agree with her stance.

Cunningham sparks trans women participation in the WNBA debate

Several sports figures have joined the debate since Cunningham sparked the controversy in July while speaking to ESPN. She said it was “common sense” to keep transgender women out of women’s sport.

“I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men,” she added.

Former NBA player Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White have also joined the controversy, announcing that they would change their gender identities in an attempt to enter the 2027 WNBA Draft. The WNBA reportedly blocked the anti-trans campaigners from playing in the league.

Anti-trans stunts

Freedom went one step further after he was removed from a WNBA game in Chicago for wearing an anti-trans T-shirt reading: “WOMAN noun. adult human female.”

WNBA star Cameron Brink blasted the former NBA player over his recent stunts, labelling him a “stupid piece of shit”.

The WNBA has spoken out against those “bad-faith efforts” to marginalise the community, explaining that there are currently no transgender eligibility issues affecting the league.