Now the Right Is Mad at Caitlin Clark for Not Publicly Agreeing With Sophie Cunningham

The attempt to turn the WNBA into the site of the next anti-trans culture war is going about as well as you’d expect. The most recent obstacle? They want Caitlin Clark to parrot her Indiana Fever teammate Sophie Cunningham’s transphobic commentary on participation in sports — and Clark won’t do it.So far, what is easily one of the most progressive and queerest professional sports leagues on the planet has so far largely rejected Cunningham’s recent transformation into the Riley Gaines of women’s basketball. After the Indiana Fever guard told ESPN earlier this month that “young girls in sport… shouldn’t have to go against biological men” — a fairly flagrant transphobic dogwhistle — she has since doubled down on those comments, drawing both protesters and supporters at upcoming games. But it’s clear where the organic sentiment lies: two courtside pro-Sophie attendees at one Seattle Storm game reportedly had their tickets paid for by a “generous donor,” meanwhile everyone from fans to coaches like Cheryl Reeve are making it clear through signage and T-shirts that the W is not a place for hate.That hasn’t stopped right-wing commentators from pressuring Clark — herself long wielded by bad-faith actors as a culture war bludgeon to criticize Black queer players — to echo Cunningham’s comments.Asked at a press conference after Sunday’s Indiana Fever loss against the Minnesota Lynx about Cunningham’s position, Clark took a fairly neutral position, in comments reported by People. “I think it’s for leagues and governing bodies to work with their athletes to find solutions,” Clark said, adding, “Our focus is on basketball. That’s what we talk about and how we can get wins and obviously we didn’t do that tonight. So we need to find an area to improve in that way.”That, apparently, though, wasn’t good enough for former Fox News host Megyn Kelly, who called Clark “cowardly” in comments reported by Mediaite, going on to