The Aporia · Final Sophie Cunningham rally of the 2026 regular season pits supporters against trans activists in Minnesota

Final Sophie Cunningham rally of the 2026 regular season pits supporters against trans activists in Minnesota

Read the original at Fox News ↗

Cite

APA MLA Chicago

Thompson, J. (2026, September 25). Final Sophie Cunningham rally of the 2026 regular season pits supporters against trans activists in Minnesota. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/outkick-sports/final-sophie-cunningham-rally-2026-regular-season-pits-supporters-against-trans-activists-minnesota

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

Quick Summary

Outside the Minnesota Lynx game on Thursday night, supporters of Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham rallied against transgender athletes in women's sports. Counterprotesters used bullhorns to verbally attack the supporters, with one man saying they "should have been aborted" and another calling XX-XY Athletics a "hate group." This was the second rally in Minnesota, following an earlier event where similar confrontations occurred. The demonstrations began after Cunningham publicly supported excluding biological males from women’s sports.

Written by AI on 2026-09-25, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Outside the Target Center in Minneapolis on Thursday night, supporters of Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham gathered to rally for protecting women's sports. Counterprotesters, some using bullhorns, confronted the crowd with inflammatory messages, including one man who told the supporters they "should have been aborted." Another counterprotester called out XX-XY Athletics, a women’s sports apparel company that opposes males competing in women's sports, as a "hate group." NCAA softball player Kendall Kotzmacher, from Colorado Christian University, was among those present and recounted a previous encounter during the first rally where she faced similar derogatory comments. Kotzmacher became an advocate for women’s sports after her high school team lost a state championship game to a squad featuring a transgender pitcher.

Written for “Sophie Cunningham Rally Controversy” on 2026-11-01, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 7% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve voices support for the trans community again after regular season finale vs Fever Different event

Fox News

⚖️ Leans strongly left Hedges 1 of 33 claims Outlet record 69/100

“While both articles discuss the same general incident of competing rallies outside a game, they describe different aspects: Article A focuses on a counterprotester's inflammatory remarks, while Article B highlights Cheryl Reeve's support for the trans community.”

Riot erupts outside Portland women's sports bar that asked customers to leave for saying trans women should be banned from women's sports Different event

Daily Mail

⚖️ Leans left Hedges 4 of 37 claims Outlet record 68/100

“The events described are related but occur at different times and places with distinct specifics.”

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

1 of 14 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")

Leaning

withheld

no quote in the article backed the model's score

Publisher signals

69/100

Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.

Outlets on this story

Sports

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-09-25 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6178 article(s) · 11 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 11 correction(s)

2026-10-31

Convicted murderer got over 5-hour head start after prison escape before local police were notified: official

2026-10-27

Middle school teacher arrested in alleged prostitution scheme at casino hotel

2026-10-16

Kash Patel demands MS NOW apologize after network's false report claiming FBI director visited Russia

2026-10-14

MS NOW issues correction after reporting Kash Patel 'landed in Russia' while he was actually in Virginia

2026-10-08

ELI STEELE: France's schools are burning. White guilt is helping fan the flames

2026-10-08

Maryland man accused of girl's fatal shooting released from prison days before

2026-10-08

Former corrections officer accused of killing wife, forcing kids to help

2026-10-03

Tennessee's state corrections chief resigns following failed execution of Christa Pike

2026-09-30

Repeat offender with lengthy rap sheet accused of gunning down Kentucky trooper during traffic stop

2026-09-23

Missouri mom who put newborn in oven instead of crib learns fate as murder charge dropped

2026-08-04

Pennsylvania school bus aide accused of sexually assaulting special needs teen

Who wrote this

Jackson Thompson

46 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 "Despite all their hard work and discipline, Reagan and Morgan may be denied the thrill of victory because Maine lets males with inherent biological advantages compete on girls’ teams," the draft states.

2026-10-30 · assertive framing · Two Maine high school girls ask federal officials to intervene over transgender soccer player

🔮 "The Justice Department is aware of these reports and will review the matter thoroughly.

2026-10-27 · assertive framing · Portland officials say city did not approve policies that led to removal of women's sports supporters

🔮 The man then said he would call police, according to Bryant, who said he encouraged him to do so because he believed officers would investigate the alleged threat.

2026-10-26 · assertive framing · Ex-NFL star says police aimed gun at him in front of his daughters amid incident with alleged reckless drivers

🔮 Sousa hoped the group could avoid ejection because soccer has no official breaks in play.

2026-10-24 · assertive framing · 'Save Women’s Sports' activists ejected from NWSL match after being struck, confronted by pro-trans crowd

🔮 A screenshot of an email, obtained by OutKick, from Dakota Ridge High School's head volleyball coach to a parent says the parent's daughter would miss a match over reports of alleged bullying.

2026-10-23 · assertive framing · Colorado high school volleyball players faced alleged benching threat amid trans athlete dispute

🔮 Asked whether Engelbert’s letter had officially triggered a previously discussed discrimination lawsuit, White said he could not discuss particulars.

2026-10-21 · assertive framing · Royce White exploring legal avenues after WNBA tells Congress he is ineligible to play

🔮 The measure would prohibit biologically male students from competing in certain female-only school sports and require health care provider verification of biological sex.

2026-10-17 · assertive framing · Sophie Cunningham commends Washington state girls who walked off cross country race over male teammate

🔮 This week's cuts come as part of a restructuring that will replace 12 permanent advisory bodies with smaller working groups assembled to address specific issues.

2026-10-16 · assertive framing · International Olympic Committee scraps gender equality, diversity and inclusion panel in major reshuffle

🔮 Washington voters will consider Initiative IL26-638 on Nov. 3.

2026-10-14 · assertive framing · Washington officials call girl’s claimed emergency ‘manufactured’ after alleged trans athlete sexual assault

🔮 The hearing’s three listed witnesses were ICONS co-founder Kim Jones, former professional soccer player Carly Smolak and attorney William Bock III.

2026-10-13 · assertive framing · NCAA softball player alleges person threatened to come to her school and kill her over women's sports activism

Also by Jackson Thompson

Two Maine high school girls ask federal officials to intervene over transgender soccer player

2026-10-30 · Fox News

Portland officials say city did not approve policies that led to removal of women's sports supporters

2026-10-27 · Fox News

Ex-NFL star says police aimed gun at him in front of his daughters amid incident with alleged reckless drivers

2026-10-26 · Fox News

'Save Women’s Sports' activists ejected from NWSL match after being struck, confronted by pro-trans crowd

2026-10-24 · Fox News

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 46 articles by Jackson Thompson →

Topics

Fever Indiana Fever Minnesota XX-XY Athletics the Minnesota Lynx

Subjects

Cunningham PERSON · 6× Fever ORG · 2× Kotzmacher PERSON · 2× Minnesota GPE · 2× XX-XY Athletics ORG · 2× Indiana Fever ORG · 1× Kendall Kotzmacher PERSON · 1× NCAA ORG · 1× Sophie Cunningham PERSON · 1× the Minnesota Lynx ORG · 1×

Narrative

Kotzmacher, a Minnesota native who plays softball at Colorado Christian University, became an advocate for women’s sports after her high school team lost a state championship game to a team featuring a transgender pitcher.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-25

🔮 "I’m not gonna shadow that or hide or, you know, dim my light just because maybe people don’t agree with that."

2026-09-25 · Fox News

Final Sophie Cunningham rally of the 2026 regular season pits supporters against trans activists in Minnesota · assertive framing

Claims (14 extracted, 1 hedged)

A pro-transgender counterprotester told supporters of Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham that they "should have been aborted" outside the Fever’s game against the Minnesota Lynx on Thursday night. asserted

they → tell → night

The man delivered the remark through a bullhorn while wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with the word "abortion," as Cunningham supporters gathered outside Target Center for a rally in support of protecting women’s sports. asserted

supporters → deliver → sports

Another counterprotester used a bullhorn to repeatedly call XX-XY Athletics — a women’s sports apparel company that opposes biological males competing in women’s sports — a "hate group." asserted

that → use → sports

NCAA softball player Kendall Kotzmacher, who attended Thursday’s rally, told OutKick the man was the same counterprotester who allegedly told her that she "should’ve been aborted" during the first Cunningham rally in Minneapolis on Aug. 2. uncertain

she → attend → Aug.

"He had a megaphone and was just yelling everything about how awful people we are," Kotzmacher said after the first encounter. asserted

Kotzmacher → have → encounter

"At one point, I got told that I should’ve been aborted when I was younger." asserted

I → tell → point

team → play → pitcher

Thursday’s demonstration marked the second Cunningham rally in Minnesota. asserted

demonstration → mark → Minnesota

The first drew supporters including Riley Gaines, former NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya and XX-XY Athletics founder Jennifer Sey, as well as pro-transgender counterprotesters. asserted

first → draw → Gaines

The rallies began following Cunningham’s public support for keeping biological males out of women’s and girls’ sports. asserted

rallies → begin → sports

Similar demonstrations have taken place outside Fever games in Seattle, Portland and other WNBA cities. asserted

demonstrations → take → Seattle

Cunningham has said she was not involved in organizing the rallies but praised attendees for exercising their right to free speech. asserted

she → say → speech

"I’m here to play basketball, but I’m also here to be me," Cunningham said earlier this season. asserted

Cunningham → ’m → basketball

"I’m not gonna shadow that or hide or, you know, dim my light just because maybe people don’t agree with that." asserted

people → go → that