Skip to main content
Softball On SI

Southern Miss Softball Blasted for 'Disrespectful' Behavior Against Troy, Labeled 'Classless' Online

"To shut them up in this game was pretty awesome."
Nicole Reitz|
Ella Cunningham was the brunt of obscene chants from Southern Miss.
Ella Cunningham was the brunt of obscene chants from Southern Miss. | Troy Athletics

The Southern Mississippi softball team is under fire after allegedly yelling obscene chants at Troy’s Ella Cunningham this weekend. 

In a since-deleted post, Cunningham’s dad, Matt, admitted she had been the brunt of “obese” chants the entire series from Southern Mississippi players, coaches, and fans. 

“When absolutely classless softball players, fans, and coaches @SouthernMissSB continually chant that your daughter is “obese” all weekend, she responds with game. Softball comes and goes, being bad humans doesn’t. Keep it softball aluminum chickens!” her dad wrote on X. 

Cunningham, who is one of the Trojans’ best two-way players at the moment, had five homers on the year upon entering game three of the series. Tied at 2-2 on Sunday, she stepped into the box as a pinch-hitter and delivered the go-ahead homer with a blast to center field to make it 3-2. 

From there, the offense capitalized and put up a seven-run sixth inning to run-rule Southern Miss 10-2. The Trojans had dropped the two previous games, and Cunningham was just glad to see karma work its magic. 

“(The win) was pretty awesome, honestly,” Cunningham said post-game. “They were chirping and saying some things that we didn’t think were very respectful, and to shut them up in this game was really awesome.” 

Troy’s pitching coach, Elizabeth Hightower, was furious on X, as well, noting that we all can do better when it comes to speaking about women. This post has also since been deleted, but was captured by BroBible's Jacob Elsey.

“For years, so many in sports have fought to earn women a real seat at the table, to be invested in, respected, and taken seriously. That fight has always been rooted in the belief that women’s bodies are capable and deserving of every opportunity.

“That’s why what was said this weekend felt so disappointing. Instead of moving things forward, it set women in sports back and what made it even harder to hear was that it felt like the call was coming from within the house. We can be better and continue the fight that women before us have paved,” Hightower wrote on X. 

With this situation heightening on social media, both Cunningham and her dad have gone private on X. 

Troy fans, however, didn’t stop the conversation online. They took note of how Southern Mississippi coaches did nothing to stop their own players from exhibiting poor sportsmanship. 

“Most classless team I’ve ever seen, hands down. Coaches were sitting in the dugout listening to it all happen, and not one word was said to the players. What an embarrassing look for the team and the culture there. Do better!” one fan wrote on X.  

Even current collegiate players got in on the conversation. 

“No room for hate or nastiness in this sport,” Georgia graduate transfer Keirstin Roose wrote on X. 

“Fans (or anyone) yelling degrading things about a woman’s body during a game is crazy and weird. Be better,” Lindenwood University pitcher Molly Heidrick wrote on X. 

Troy and Southern Miss will not face each other again in the 2026 regular season, but very well could in the Sun Belt Tournament. 

Loading recommendations... Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations

Published | Modified
Nicole Reitz
NICOLE REITZ

Nicole Reitz graduated from Indiana University Indianapolis with a degree in sports journalism in 2022 and has been writing about softball and baseball since 2018 .Her work has been published in various publications like Softball America, the Indianapolis Star, and SoxOn35th.

Share on XFollow nicolereitz02
Home/College