Note that the NY Times says Sophie Cunningham said “bar transgender athletes” – but that is not at all what she said. The NY Times just made that up.

From @TheAthletic: Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham doubled down Wednesday on comments she made in a recently published ESPN article, saying it’s “common sense” to bar transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports. https://t.co/TNhKA0172g

— The New York Times (@nytimes) July 23, 2026

She said “biological men” (not the NYT’s paraphrase of “transgender athletes”).

In the July 21, 2026 ESPN profile that started this, Sophie Cunningham’s direct quote was:

“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that.’ 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.”

The New York Times / The Athletic post paraphrases her later comments (the “common sense” doubling-down after the Fever-Sun game) as supporting a ban on “transgender athletes.” She did not use that phrase in the original statement; she used “biological men.” When reporters asked her about it the next day, she stood by the earlier remarks: “I said what I said. I think it’s kind of common sense… I stand on what I said.”

Multiple outlets (LA Times, USA Today, IndyStar, etc.) accurately report the “biological men” wording from the ESPN piece and note that she reiterated the same stance without softening it to the media’s preferred terminology.

The NY Times, however, just made up a quote. How can anyone trust the media when they make up quotes?