Vice President J.D. Vance praised Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham for speaking out on behalf of women's sports.
Cunningham has become a lightning rod in recent weeks after comments she made about transgender athletes in women's sports. Vance said in an interview Tuesday that Cunningham should be praised for her courage in speaking out.
"What I would tell Sophie and anybody is, keep speaking your mind. You actually are inspiring a dozen people for every person that criticizes you. And we cannot take our country back; we cannot save the United States of America unless you have people of courage who are speaking their mind," he said.
"The thing about courage, Laura, is it's contagious. When you see one person—even if they have the mob come after them—one person speak their mind in a courageous and honest way, it inspires a lot of people to do the same. So I would tell Sophie to keep going."
"I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I'm like, 'I never once said that,'" she told the outlet. "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."
"I said what I said," she told reporters. "I think it's kind of common sense, and I think I'll always believe in that. I think it's really important to protect children, and that's little girls who are also involved in that category. And so I stand on what I said, and I always believe that."
Cunningham said that she is "not a very political person," but she stands by her beliefs. She said she is very protective of young girls and women in sports, and especially Title IX. But she also pushed back on the idea that her comments could be seen as anti-transgender or cause blowback onto transgender people.
"I extend love, and I don't dislike anyone," she said. "I think there is room for absolutely everyone here, and I think there's room to love everyone. And I truly think when you get people in the same room, and you have conversations, you actually have a lot in common with a lot of people. I'm there to love, but I'm also there to love biological women. And I think that there are rights that need to be protected."
Her comments have prompted fierce backlash from some. First, Seattle Storm center Stefanie Dolson wore a "Trans Rights are Human Rights" shirt before their game against Cunningham's Indiana Fever on July 28. Cunningham was booed during the Fever's game against the Portland Fire on July 31. A protester showed up to the game between the Fever and the Minnesota Lynx; Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve wore a “Trans Kids Belong” shirt during the game.
But Cunningham has received support from former NCAA swimmer Riley Gaines, ESPN host Stephen A. Smith, and Pro Football Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher, among others.
For her part, Cunningham is trying to move past the controversy.
"There's just so much distraction," she said Wednesday. "The WNBA media, all we ever do is cover everything except basketball ... You can talk about other things, those are great stories, it shows fans who people are outside of the court, but I think we gotta keep the main thing the main thing."