Cleveland and Detroit won\u2019t officially rejoin the WNBA until later this decade, but both cities already possess a shared rival: Sophie Cunningham.<\/p>\n
Speaking with reporters earlier this week, the Indiana Fever guard reacted to the news that Cleveland (2028), Detroit (2029) and Philadelphia (2030) will be receiving WNBA expansion franchises in the coming years<\/a>. And in doing so, Cunningham made it clear that she would have preferred to see the league favor what she views as more player-friendly cities such as Miami and Nashville.<\/p>\n \u201cYou want to listen to your players, too. Where do they want to play? Where are they gonna get excited to play and draw fans?\u201d the 28-year-old told reporters. \u201c\u2026 It\u2019s kind of a hard decision-making situation. But man, I don\u2019t know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or [Cleveland].\u201d<\/p>\n Fever star Sophie Cunningham on the WNBA expanding to multiple new cities over the next few years:<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or [Cleveland]\u201d pic.twitter.com\/pncwYpMar3<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) July 1, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n Unsurprisingly, Cunningham\u2019s comments didn\u2019t sit well in either city, eliciting reactions from Cavs owner Dan Gilbert<\/a> (who will also own the Cleveland WNBA franchise), Cavs All-NBA guard Donovan Mitchell<\/a> and Detroit native Jemele Hill<\/a>, as well as the cities themselves. Criticisms against the Columbia, Missouri, native ranged from accusations of her having an elitist attitude to a lack of knowledge about the WNBA\u2019s history, considering that Cleveland and Detroit each previously possessed teams.<\/p>\n On Thursday, Cunningham addressed her viral comments for the first time. And while she stands by the idea of the WNBA expanding to more destination cities, she also insisted that she never meant to disrespect Cleveland or Detroit.<\/p>\n \u201cFirst of all, I know the history of the WNBA. I know that both of those cities have had team before and they got us where we\u2019re at, so I\u2019m thankful for that,\u201d she said. \u201cAll I was really getting at was Broadway, the off-court lifestyle and so I think that is really intriguing. I think Miami\u2019s intriguing. That\u2019s all I was getting at.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it would be fun to get some teams outside of the NBA market\u2026 I think people totally misread the situation. I would never speak down upon middle-class, blue-collar working people. That\u2019s where I come from. I\u2019m from Missouri. I get I\u2019m in Indiana, and that\u2019s why I\u2019m kind of hinting at Broadway sounds fun, Miami sounds fun. That\u2019s all I was getting at.\u201d<\/p>\n Asked about the reaction to her comments, Cunningham replied: \u201cThe people that hype you up are going to be the same people pushing you down. And so for me, I always just kind of stay right here in the middle. I think that was my personal opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n Fever wing Sophie Cunningham offers clarifying thoughts about her comments on WNBA expansion from earlier this week: pic.twitter.com\/pkXuXywI6E<\/a><\/p>\n