Sophie Cunningham on the backlash: “Why are girls mad?… Go do your thing sis”
Sophie CunninghamWNBA player for the Indiana Fever, speaking on her podcast “No Hesitation”
WNBA player Sophie Cunningham said on her podcast that she did not understand why the advertisement had angered women, that its combination of men, sports and nudity was obviously going to draw attention, and that Sweeney should carry on. She also said she did not really like the ad, called Sweeney’s involvement inauthentic and found it “morally… a little weird,” and said the ad was not directed at women’s sports.
“Why are girls mad? That is literally what she does… Men, sports, naked women. Of course that’s gonna draw attention… Go do your thing sis”
Original video
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Sydney Sweeney’s Novig "Just Sports" ad draws backlash over sexualizing women’s sport
Novig, a U.S. sports prediction market in which Sydney Sweeney is a strategic partner and equity holder, released a "Just Sports" ad campaign on September 9, 2026, in which Sweeney appears nude or minimally clothed while covering herself with sports equipment. The ad drew public criticism from a number of female athletes, who said it sexualizes women’s sport; Novig’s CEO and at least one columnist publicly disputed that characterization.
Source and context
Original video
About this source
In a section about the Novig advertisement, Cunningham calls the ad inauthentic and morally odd, questions the backlash, and says it was not directed at women’s sports. Drew Hanlen’s later comments are distinct from Cunningham’s.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Reporting
About this source
Reports remarks by WNBA player Sophie Cunningham on her podcast “No Hesitation” with co-host Drew Hanlen. The ellipses are the outlet’s elisions from the podcast audio; the underlying episode is the primary record and has not been reviewed for this case. The same report notes Sweeney has not commented on the ad but shared Instagram Stories of female athletes from ESPN’s Body issue. This is the Yahoo syndication of The Sporting News article.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
Said on her podcast with co-host Drew Hanlen, in an episode released September 17, after named athletes including Ariarne Titmus, Amy Hunt and Skye Nicolson had criticised the campaign.
After the quotation
The ellipses in the quotation are the reporting outlet’s elisions from the podcast audio; the full episode, at 44:47 to 46:46, is the primary record. Drew Hanlen’s later comments in the episode are his own and are not attributed to Cunningham.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
On whether the advertisement sexualizes women’s sport, Cunningham takes materially different positions in the same segment. She criticizes the ad, saying she does not really like it, calling Sweeney’s involvement inauthentic and calling it morally odd, while also questioning the backlash, asking why women were angry and saying the ad was not directed at women’s sports. That combination is “Mixed or conditional” rather than “Minimized,” because her criticism is a substantive objection, not only a qualification on a dismissal.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Sydney Sweeney, Novig
Corrections to this statement
These notices document reporting corrections, classification changes, and topic-label updates.
Classification correction
Correction to: Statement by Sophie Cunningham
- Previous classification
- Position Event #1080 classifies Sophie Cunningham’s remarks as “minimizes,” says the primary episode had not been reviewed, and dates the statement September 18, 2026.
- Corrected classification
- Review of the original September 17 episode shows that Cunningham both criticized the advertisement—calling it inauthentic, saying she did not like it, and calling it morally odd—and questioned the backlash, saying it was not directed at women’s sports. Her classification should be “mixed or conditional.” Supporting copy should identify September 17 as the episode’s release date and distinguish Cunningham’s remarks from Drew Hanlen’s later comments.
The published record relied on a reported excerpt. The full episode at 44:47–46:46 provides broader context and resolves the earlier source-status and date statement. This correction preserves the historical record rather than silently revising it.
This corrects an editorial classification.
In a section about the Novig advertisement, Cunningham calls the ad inauthentic and morally odd, questions the backlash, and says it was not directed at women’s sports. Drew Hanlen’s later comments are distinct from Cunningham’s.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)More from this case
Read the full caseFortinsky renews his defense of Novig's Sweeney ad
“Ultimately, I think we have nothing to apologize for and are very proud of the work that we did,”Read statement
Jen Psaki criticizes the message of Novig’s Sydney Sweeney ad
“But the problem is the message an ad like this sends about women in sports.”Read statement
Ron Elfenbein defends the Novig ad's "aspirational" approach
“advertising being aspirational again... is a good thing... you want people to look at your product and say, I want to feel good.”Read statement
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- Sophie Cunningham on the backlash: “Why are girls mad?… Go do your thing sis”
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The Dispute Index. "Sophie Cunningham on the backlash: “Why are girls mad?… Go do your thing sis”". First published: 2026-09-18. Last updated: 2026-09-25. https://disputeindex.com/events/1080-wnba-player-sophie-cunningham-said-on-her-podcast