Cheryl Reeve, Sophie Cunningham Conversation Cuts Through WNBA Noise

Cheryl Reeve and Sophie Cunningham's handling of a difficult conversation before the Minnesota Lynx and Indiana Fever game set a powerful precedent.

Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve addresses the media | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Indiana Fever star guard Sophie Cunningham and Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve were seen having what looked to be a thoughtful conversation before their two teams faced off on Sunday.

The assumption was that Reeve and Cunningham were talking through their different opinion about transgender athletes playing women's sports. Cunningham has gone viral for her stance that transgender athletes should not be allowed to play women's sports, while Reeve has offered a different opinion in recent days and wore a "Trans kids belong" shirt for Sunday's game.

Big Cheryl talking to S*phie

🎥 hannahmross | Threads pic.twitter.com/4hvrEhLpVL

— zavanté ✯ (@zavanchy) August 2, 2026

Despite the two having different takes on this polarizing issue, their conversation appeared to be respectful and cordial from the outside looking in.

Reeve confirmed this and offered an interesting take on the conversation when speaking to the media postgame.

“I think it’s great," Reeve said when asked about the exchange with Cunningham and the importance of having conversations with people who have different views, per an X post from Andrew Dukowitz.

"I think both of us understand that we have platforms. And we both talked about, more than anything, wanting to educate. And there’s some things we have in common, and maybe some things you differ on—just like any issues. I think it’s how you handle things. So it was nice to be in person, for sure,” Reeve added.

Cheryl Reeve on her conversation with Sophie Cunningham pre-game, and the importance of having conversations with people who have different views

“I think it’s great, I think both of us understand that we have platforms and we both talked about more than anything wanting to… pic.twitter.com/f2eyKeMDrR

— Andrew Dukowitz (@adukeMN) August 2, 2026

Cheryl Reeve and Sophie Cunningham's Exchange Shows Cooler Heads Can Prevail

There's a world where this conversation could not have gone well. Cunningham and Reeve are both fiery personalities, and this is a very emotionally charged issue (which has been proven by the reactions to Cunningham's comments on social media and in the women's basketball community).

Instead, both Reeve and Cunningham approached the conversation like mature adults and were seemingly able to talk things out, listen to the other, and both come out of it with their respect and dignity intact.

They both deserve a lot of credit for that. Hopefully, this can serve as a lesson to the rest of the women's basketball community that tough conversations between groups of people with different matters can be handled gracefully and without hostility entering the equation.

Cunningham hasn't had the chance to speak about this exchange yet, as she wasn't part of the Fever's postgame press conference. But it will be interesting to hear her speak on it at some point, as she's likely to be asked about it.

Hopefully, she'll share a similar stance to Reeve's. And if she does so, perhaps the community can take another step toward putting this story in the rearview mirror.