NEWSRiley Gaines Insults 'Disgruntled Lesbian' WNBA Fans Over Sophie Cunningham Boos
Riley Gaines disparaged WNBA fans.
Sept. 8 2026, Published 5:39 p.m. ET
Former NCAA swimmer and anti-trans activist Riley Gaines seemed shocked to learn that lesbian WNBA fans in Minnesota were not fans of Sophie Cunningham.
Gaines spoke critically of her experience watching Cunningham's Indiana Fever square off against the Minnesota Lynx in a WNBA game while speaking on a September 5 Fox News appearance.
Gaines Shocked That Minnesota WNBA Fans Booed Cunningham
Gaines spoke critically of her experience watching Cunningham's Indiana Fever square off against the Minnesota Lynx.
"I can tell you, I went to the WNBA game in Minneapolis, which, right, you can expect how Minneapolis, what the fan base as it pertains to the WNBA in that city looks like, and it was a bunch of, like, disgruntled lesbians," Gaines said on the September 5 edition of The Big Weekend Show.
The Fever played the Lynx on August 2, where fans let Cunningham hear it whenever she was on the court.
"It felt like virtually everyone in that arena, first of all, you audibly heard it anytime Sophie was subbed in, stepped on the court, touched the ball, threw up a shot, her name was announced on the loudspeakers," the 26-year-old complained. "You audibly heard it. It felt like the entire arena booed."
The Lynx defeated the Fever in the game 108-100.
Cunningham's Anti-Trans Comments Have Caused a Storm Around the WNBA Season
Protests have followed Cunningham and the Fever around for months.
Her comments turned her into a political lightning rod, with some rallying behind her, while protests and counterprotests surrounding Cunningham have followed the Fever throughout the WNBA season.
Furthermore, former NBA role player Enes Kanter Freedom declared himself eligible for the WNBA draft in a trolling move, citing what he described as the league's unclear eligibility rules.
The controversy ultimately led to the resignation of WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, who had faced mounting criticism over her handling of player safety concerns.
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Gaines Implies Cunningham Boos Is a Conspiracy
Gaines insisted that the majority of the country supports Cunningham.
Despite the overwhelming rejection of Cunningham by Lynx and other WNBA fans, Gaines insisted the majority of the country supports Cunningham.
"It felt like [the WNBA] had been advised to only put people on the Jumbotron who were draped in their trans flags," she said. "We here know, and the general public knows, that that's not indicative of real life and the split of people who actually agree that men should be playing in women's sports, that that's fair or safe. But if you were totally immersed in that league, you would think that's how the majority of people across the U.S., across the globe, feel. Which, again, it's just not real."
Cunnigham and Gaines Both Struggled to Stand Out as Athletes
Gaines' grievance over once racing a trans swimmer helped her get a career in MAGA.
Like Gaines, Cunningham parlayed her mediocre sports career into becoming a controversial critic of trans athletes in women's sports.
Gaines once tied for fifth place to trans swimmer Lia Thomas and used the incident to build a career in the conservative media ecosystem. Cunningham is a career 8 points-per-game scorer who became a political lightning rod for speaking critically about the idea of trans women in women's sports.
Cunningham told ESPN in July that it was "common sense" for trans athletes to not play women's sports, citing the safety of young women.
There is not, nor has their ever been, a trans athlete in the WNBA.
