Sophie Cunningham supporters rallied outside in Portland while liberal fans booed her inside

Sophie Cunningham is now the most polarizing athlete in sports. She’s loved and she’s hated. That was clear Friday evening in Portland as the Fever traveled to another liberal Mecca to play one of the WNBA’s newest expansion franchises, the Portland Fire.

Cunningham’s bold stance to support the effort to keep women’s sports and spaces female has attracted women’s sports advocates to rally outside of her games. The first rally, which took place in Seattle, received moderate pushback from trans supporters and made headlines due to what happened inside the arena. A now fined and suspended co-owner of the Seattle Storm, Celeste Keaton, berated two teenage girls sitting courtside with XX-XY Athletics T-shirts and a sign that said, “Thank You Sophie For Speaking Up For Girls.” Meanwhile, a local store director of Nordstrom, Marco Esquivel, was caught berating and cussing at the girls, their mothers and fellow Cunningham supporters. Nordstrom has yet to make a public statement.

“The ‘With Love Is Truth’ series began July 28, 2026, when women’s rights group Women Are Real, women’s rights advocate Amy E. Sousa (AKA Known Heretic), and independent journalist Brandi Kruse organized a fan rally with local supporters, including Washington high school athletes, outside Climate Pledge Arena before the Indiana Fever’s game against the Seattle Storm,” the group stated via a press release.

“We are here today [in Portland] in solidarity with those girls [who were berated in Seattle], in solidarity with Sophie Cunningham, and in solidarity with all female athletes,” Sousa stated proudly as she addressed the crowd outside the arena.

Sousa was joined Friday by dozens of individuals directly associated with the group, including former Olympian Inga Thompson and attorney Kara Dansky – a board member of Democrats for an Informed Approach to Gender and former president of Women’s Declaration International USA, outside the Moda Center. They had dozens more join in support of the group’s efforts and Cunningham’s stance about 90 minutes before tip-off.

Inside the arena for the game, Cunningham received relentless boos every time she checked in and touched the ball. The Fire promoted trans and gay pride flags held by fans whenever they could, clearly showcasing their anti-Cunningham agenda. The loudest cheer of the evening, up to that point, was during the ultra-inclusive “companion cam,” featuring multiple gay couples kissing and a group of lesbian trans supporters waving trans flags prior to the start of the second quarter.

It was evident that many fans were there to protest Cunningham’s “common sense” stance. The protests didn’t stop outside. That was clear in the apparel, flags, and voices of the Fire fans in the building.

The next rally is slated for Sunday in Minnesota as the Fever play the red-hot Minnesota Lynx.