Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham has spoken out after two teenage fans claimed Seattle Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton berated them as “f—ing insane” over a sign supporting the WNBA star.
Cunningham described Keaton’s actions inside Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle on Tuesday night as “truly embarrassing” while praising the young fans for “standing up for what they believe.”
“I truly believe there is a safe space and love for EVERYBODY,” she wrote on X on Wednesday night.
“Biological girls, biological boys, trans women, and trans men. Everyone is welcome at my table! You can disagree and still be kind.”
She also praised the two girls, adding: “Bravo to those girls for standing up for what they believe. You’ll be hearing from me soon yay for gifts.
“Truly embarrassing of the co-owner. Unfortunately shows the type of leader she is.”
The two girls were sitting courtside and holding a sign reading, “Thank you, Sophie for speaking up for girls!” when Keaton confronted the duo during the Storm’s 105-95 loss to the Fever.
Keaton allegedly told the girls that “Jesus loves everyone” when they voiced their support for Cunningham’s comments opposing transgender women competing in women’s sports, the teens told Brandi Kruse on the Undivided podcast.
They alleged Keaton then told them, “I hope Jesus can forgive you for what sin you’ve done,” before calling them “f—– insane” while pointing at her head and adding, “God can save you,” leaving one of the fans in tears.
“I’ve never been yelled at like that,” one of the girls said.
“I’ve had people hate on me on the internet, but it doesn’t really affect me as much, because it’s people online. But that just caught me by surprise because I thought she was going to be nice, and she started screaming at us, and cussing at us.”
The teens were also wearing XX-XY shirts, apparel from former gymnast Jennifer Sey’s company named after the male and female chromosome pairings, which says its mission is to protect women’s sports and spaces.
The girls also said they felt unwelcome throughout the game.
“The whole time we were kind of on edge,” one of them said. “I was like, should we put our sign down? I don’t know. The lady sitting right across from us, and the two people sitting beside us, were turning their backs and trying to sit as far away from us.”
The WNBA has since fined Keaton and suspended her from attending the Storm’s next five home games following the fan confrontation, according to Fox 13 Seattle’s Lauren Helmbrecht.
Cunningham voiced support for barring transgender athletes from girls’ and women’s sports in an ESPN article published earlier this month, saying she wants to protect female athletes while insisting her views do not come from a place of hate.
“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that,’” she said.
“I think that I am here to extend love. But I also think with that love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”
