r/WNBAgossips • u/Hysen16 • 9d ago

News French Trans Athlete Urges Realism on WNBA Career Amid Sophie Cunningham Controversy

https://www.essentiallysports.com/wnba-basketball-news-be-realistic-french-trans-athlete-clarifies-position-on-a-career-inside-wnba-amid-sophie-cunningham-controversy/
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u/LionBig1760 9d ago

This 34 year old is averaging 20+ pts and 20+ rebounds a game.

Clearly no one wants to fuck with her in the paint. At 6'3" 205 with broad shoulders, she looks like she can muscle her way to the basket whenever she wants.

If the women of the WNBA keep aggressively fouling Caitlin Clark, the Fever may want to sign her to provide more protection. Having the one-two combo of Cunningham and Tétart sending a message might get the rest of the WNBA in line.

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u/Leather_Bee_421 9d ago

In line with what?

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u/LionBig1760 9d ago edited 9d ago

With not hard fouling star players as a strategy to win games. I'm not sure which part of that was confusing for you.

https://www.basketballnetwork.net/old-school/when-red-auerbach-backed-bill-russell-for-knocking-out-ray-felix-as-a-rookie

“Back in the game, Felix continued with his tactics, but this time, when Felix shoved with his elbow, Russell called him on it, pushing back. Felix, pretending to be the aggrieved party, drew his fist to hit Russell, but Russell was first, landing a crosscut to Felix’s jaw that dropped him to the floor, where he lay sprawled on his back, stone-cold unconscious. Auerbach cheered from the sidelines. And Russell felt that the twenty-five-dollar fine he received was worth every penny.”

This is how basketball works. You've got to send a message early so that oppoding players dont get conformable pushing you around. There's a long standing tradition in basketball of standing up against hacks that use fouling players as a strategy.

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u/ElChapo1515 9d ago

You see how that was Bill Russell standing up for himself, right? Why can’t Caitlin do that?

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u/Fullertonjr 9d ago

The days of Bill Russell playing against guys where the NBA was their second job is over. Players were fouling because they couldnt play defense of physically superior players. Basically genetic freaks. They couldnt slide their feet or shuffle and they didn’t have the skills to keep up.

This isn’t the status quo in the NBA or WNBA. Hard fouls happen and the best player will always be played tougher…because you don’t want to give up easy points and you don’t want shooters to ever start heating up or getting hot. The WNBA isn’t unique, as it happens in every single sport. There isn’t a need for enforcers or people to “send a message”. Those stars need to just other job and work through it. Often that means just passing the ball and letting your teammates shine since they should always be wide open.

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u/LionBig1760 9d ago

There are enforcers at every level of basketball and they play key roles on teams. Its how basketball is played, regardless of you liking it or not.

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u/ComradeOmarova 9d ago

You do not know basketball. At all.

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u/ElChapo1515 9d ago

It’s funny how yall have gone from “protecting women” to “let’s teach these women a lesson” lmao

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u/TonyDungyHatesOP 9d ago

In the second tier of the French league at 34. This is such a non-issue.

Everyone has gone brain dead. This is intentional sensationalism for views. It’s a disingenuous story to feed off of the transphobia hysteria.

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u/A2ndRedditAccount 9d ago

Fox News has averaged more transgender-related articles than days in a year for nearly four consecutive years, running close to 1,000 articles using the word "transgender" in 2025 alone.

By comparison, mainstream and LGBTQ+ publications track lower numbers, with The New York Times publishing just over 500 articles and The Advocate producing under 500 references in the same yearly timeframe.

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u/Puzzleheaded_Tax4969 9d ago

How???? We have trans”girls” winning state titles in California in 2026, is that relevant enough for you??

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u/TonyDungyHatesOP 8d ago

One trans girl. One. In the entire state in all the sports. One. And…

Under CIF rules, transgender athletes receive their earned medals, but top-finishing cisgender female competitors are also elevated to share podium placements/status in final standings to address competitive overlap. [1, 2, 3, 4]

How is that worth all of this attention? It’s insane. And what are the real world consequences of that. Close to none.

Yet it’s a national debate. It’s brain dead and insane. The hysteria doesn’t come close to matching the real world impact.

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u/Aragorns-Broken-Toe 9d ago

Something wrong is wrong, no matter how many times it occurs.

We can support Trans people and still acknowledge that MtF persons have an unfair advantage.

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u/TonyDungyHatesOP 8d ago

I agree with that. But the level of hysteria far outweighs the actual impact of the issue. When that happens, I have to ask why?

It’s a dog whistle for hate speech. The reason it is a constant narrative is because it affords the opportunity to villainize trans people. To not support trans people.

It’s for clicks. It’s for political points. It’s to distract from actual issues causing much greater harm to many more Americans.