Sophie Cunningham Claimed She Wasn’t “Hating” on Trans People. Her New Hat Suggests Otherwise

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham remains at the center of a culture war around transgender participation in women’s sports. But since the publication of her consequential July profile with ESPN, in which she said she opposed trans inclusion because she wanted to “protect young girls”— a common anti-trans dog whistle — Cunningham has maintained that her views are not hateful.“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans,” Cunningham said in the profile. “And I’m like, ‘I never once said that.’”After a recent appearance at a University of Missouri football game, however, it appears that the 30-year-old has turned a corner and is leaning into the “MAGA Barbie” moniker. On October 3, immediately before Mizzou’s homecoming football game, Cunningham sported an orange baseball cap reading “WOMAN” across the front, while walking into center field. Though the statement printed on the boldly colored hat is simple, almost innocuous to the untrained eye, smaller print on the side of the hat reads, “No Cis, Just…,” meant to be read in its entirety as “No Cis, Just… WOMAN.” For those unfamiliar with the ongoing conversation on trans inclusion in women's sports, this statement might also not immediately jump out as sinister. But denying the use of the term “cisgender” is a common trans-exclusionary radical feminist, or TERF, tactic often used to promote an exclusionary and strictly biologically based definition of womanhood.If the motivating political ideology behind the hat is still unclear, it’s important to look deeper at who produces it. The hat is a collaboration between Brianna Riddick, a conservative podcaster and influencer, and Conviction Co, an apparel company that “make[s] it easy to boldly share Biblical truth + spark important conversations,” per its website, which sells other hats bearing slogans such as “Save the Babies,” “Pro Life,” and “Tell Me You Love Jesus & Don’t Trust The Gover