Sophie Cunningham and West Wilson split on transgender athletes in girls' sports despite podcast partnership - Fox News

What the report says

Fox News, carrying an OutKick report by Austin Perry, reported that Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham and West Wilson, her childhood friend and podcast co-host, have taken opposing public positions in the debate over transgender athletes in girls’ and women’s sports. The article says Cunningham recently drew criticism after supporting restrictions that would keep what she described as biological men out of girls’ sports, and that she has continued to defend that view.

According to the report, Wilson responded on X by criticizing conservatives for elevating the issue, calling transgender participation in American sports a “borderline nonexistent issue.” He said the number of transgender athletes in the NCAA is very small and argued that political attention on the subject distracts from issues such as housing, health care and war. Wilson also suggested individual cases could be addressed separately.

The Fox/OutKick article challenged Wilson’s framing, arguing that concern about eligibility rules is not limited to the political right and noting that the debate also involves youth and high school sports, not only college athletics. The piece referenced past controversies involving transgender athletes, including Lia Thomas in NCAA swimming and Connecticut high school track athletes, as examples of why the issue remains prominent.

The development matters because Cunningham and Wilson appear to be publicly split on a politically charged sports issue while continuing a podcast partnership. The report did not say whether the disagreement will affect their show or whether either has spoken directly to the other about the posts.