Sophie Cunningham cheers teen girls who held up ‘Thank you, Sophie, for speaking up for girls’ at Seattle WNBA game

“I truly believe there is a safe space and love for EVERYBODY. Biological girls, biological boys, trans women, and trans men. Everyone is welcome at my table! You can disagree and still be kind,” she wrote. “Bravo to those girls for standing up for what they believe. You’ll be hearing from me soon [heart emoji] yay for gifts.”

Cunningham also spoke on the Seattle Storm co-owner, Celeste Keaton, who yelled at the girls, resulting in one of them crying. “Truly embarrassing of the co-owner. Unfortunately shows the type of leader she is.”

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Cunningham has been in the spotlight as of late after speaking out on protecting women’s sports. The two girls attended the Tuesday night game alongside other supporters. The girls, both 16, sported XX-XY Athletics t-shirts, a company that advocates for protecting women's sports, and held up a sign that read, “Thank you, Sophie, for speaking up for girls!”

The teens were able to sit courtside due to a gift from a donor, and while watching the game, Keaton approached them and began yelling at them. In an interview with Seattle-based journalist Brandi Kruse of the unDivided podcast, one of the girls recalled: "We were just sitting there with our signs that said like, 'We love Sophie,' like, 'Thank you, Sophie, for speaking up,' and so we were holding on, just watching the game. We were being super great; we hadn't said anything to anyone else, we were being super respectful."

According to the teens, Keaton said, "Jesus loves everyone," then told them, "I hope Jesus can forgive you for what sin you've done" and called them "f*cking insane." She allegedly added remarks along the lines of "How dare you come here and pull this sh*t?"

In the wake of Tuesday night’s game, Keaton has been suspended from attending the next five home games and has been fined. On Wednesday, Storm majority owner Ginny Gilder issued a public apology on behalf of the organization. "We are aware one of our co-owners made comments to two fans in attendance at last night's game. We apologize that this happened. Everyone who attends a Storm game deserves to feel welcome, and we remain committed to creating an inclusive environment where every fan is treated with respect."

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