WNBA Reddit page bans Sophie Cunningham name after Fever star sparked trans athlete controversy

Sophie Cunningham's name has been banned by moderators on the WNBA subreddit after she sparked massive controversy.

The Indiana Fever guard has found herself at the center of a league-wide firestorm since comments she made in an interview last month. 

Cunningham shared what she called her 'common sense' opinion with ESPN that she wanted to 'protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn't have to go against biological men.'

Since then, Cunningham has been at the heart of protests and demonstrations both supporting and criticizing her, including Seattle Storm co-owner Celeste Keaton being fined and suspended after confronting and allegedly directing expletives at fans with a sign thanking Cunningham when the teams met and Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve wearing a 'Trans kids belong' T-shirt on the sideline in their game.

With the cultural debate surrounding Cunningham, moderators of the r/WNBA subreddit have entirely banned her name to try and keep out of the controversy, after the league discovered the true impact of the saga.

After trying to post about Cunningham celebrating her 30th birthday and being unable to use her name or several abbreviations, a user messaged moderators asking for clarification, only to be threatened with a ban if they continued to question the purposeful decision. 

'We filter content based on Sophi because it tend to bring out trolls and people that aren't fans of the W,' the r/WNBA wrote back.

The user responded questioning banning content about a WNBA player in the r/WNBA channel. 

'But she's a WNBA player that does have actual fans,' the user wrote. 'If you can't post about a player you're a fan of, that seems ridiculous.' 

But they were issued a further explanation as moderators wrote: 'We have chosen to filter content. If you want to post freely about Sophie you can go to different sub.....

'You aren't even a contributor to this sub, so I suggest you go back to the other WNBA subs. This is our decision. If you keep messaging about this you will be banned.'

Despite the massive controversy around her, Cunningham has stood firm on her comments, telling reporters shortly after the interview was released: 'There's going to be some negative comments but there's also a lot of positive comments too. It is what it is.

'We're all human, I really don't care what other people have to say. I said what I said, I think it's common sense and I think I will always believe in that. I stand on what I said.

'I am not a very political person but I have beliefs, I have morals and I will always be true to who I am.

'I think people are going to take it how they want to take it. When it comes to protecting young girls and women in sports, I feel very strongly about that.

'Me coming out with that, there are so many people like 'finally someone has said something'. I know whatever I say, I'm gonna get hate and I am gonna get love,' she concluded.

'That's just what this world is. I am confident in who I am, I am happy being me and I am going to continue to be that.'