How Sophie Cunningham Became the Non-Left's New Hero

How a WNBA Role Player Became a Global Culture War Icon

On the day Ryan Glasspiegel and I discussed just how shockingly famous an Indiana Fever role player had gotten, Sophie Cunningham was applauded on social media by JK Rowling. Later that evening Cunningham was approvingly featured on Australia’s Fox News analog. Though Sophie is, by her own accord, “not a very political person,” and “very much in the middle,” she’s now a hero to many in what I might call the worldwide “non-left.” Every day, the Klosterman prophecy of Sophie Cunningham as 2050 Vice President grows more probable.

What the hell is happening? For one, Cunningham’s brand has shifted to new territory. As I’ve said, Sophie’s fans see her as Oberyn “I will be your champion” Martell, protecting superstar Caitlin Clark against a league that hates its box office sensation. Now she’s getting heralded as a different sort of guardian. She’s done it by staking a position that roughly 80 percent of Americans agree with, but much of the sports media finds distasteful to explicitly adopt. Here’s what happened, and why this theoretically fringe topic won’t just fade away.