Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham has a new podcast and a new co-host. On Thursday, she launched “No Hesitation” with basketball trainer Drew Hanlen, replacing her previous show, “Show Me Something,” which she had hosted with “Summer House” personality West Wilson.
“Show Me Something” stopped putting out new episodes this summer, and its social media accounts and YouTube channel have since been rebranded as “No Hesitation.” Neither Cunningham, Wilson nor The Volume, which produces the show, has publicly explained the reason for the change or Wilson’s departure.
The shift comes after Wilson publicly staked out a position opposing Cunningham’s on transgender athletes in women’s sports, not long after an ESPN profile described Cunningham’s belief that women’s sports should remain reserved for biological females. Wilson called transgender participation in American sports a “borderline non-existent issue” and argued that conservatives, politicians, athletes and news organizations have overstated the threat posed by transgender people.
Cunningham did not back away from her stance. “I said what I said. I think it’s common sense,” she told reporters in July. “I think I’ll always believe in that. It’s really important to protect children, and that’s little girls who are also involved in that category.” She has said repeatedly that she does not hate transgender people and believes there’s room to love everyone, while also maintaining that the rights, safety and opportunities of biological women need protecting.
Cunningham and Hanlen did not bring up Wilson or the transgender-athlete dispute during the debut episode. Instead, Cunningham framed the new show as a straightforward basketball program. “I just felt like there was not a podcast or really any social media out there that gave you real, honest truth about basketball and strictly basketball,” she said.
Hanlen addressed the political attention Cunningham has drawn, saying the public often gets a skewed picture of her. “People think you’re like some troll and make statements, but really it’s 99% of the time people ask you a question, you answer, you give your opinion, and then people blow it up and act like you made a big political statement,” he said. Cunningham replied, “Stop asking me questions if you don’t want the truth.”
Media coverage and awards voting
The conversation turned to how the WNBA and its players get covered. Cunningham argued media attention and awards voting are sometimes shaped by popularity and politics rather than performance. “I think it’s very political,” she said. “I think there’s a lot of people who are really, really great who don’t get the credit because maybe they don’t have the popularity or they don’t have the platform.” She added, “I don’t know if there’s voting fatigue. I just don’t know how accurate the voting is at times.”
She agreed with Hanlen’s view that WNBA media coverage often sidesteps basketball itself. “I think you kind of hit it when you said the WNBA media pretty much covers everything but basketball,” Cunningham said, calling on reporters to focus on the league’s players and their accomplishments. “Now it’s on the WNBA media to actually tell the good stories, to tell the positive stories, to actually talk about basketball and how freaking awesome our league is playing this year. History is being made this year.”
That echoes comments Cunningham made in August, during the height of the transgender-athlete controversy, when she said she wanted to “get back to basketball.” ESPN reported at the time that rallies and counterprotests followed the Fever on the road after her initial remarks on the issue.
On Caitlin Clark’s impact
The debut episode also included Cunningham’s take on teammate Caitlin Clark’s effect on the league. Hanlen compared it to the impact Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods had on their sports. Cunningham agreed the effect was obvious, while noting it doesn’t diminish the players who came before. “I should not get in trouble for knowing the obvious,” she said. “That doesn’t mean there wasn’t greatness before her. The talent has always, always been there. But now, us players, we just have the platform and the eyes, and companies want to be a part of something great and something that is growing.”
What Cunningham wants from the next commissioner
Cunningham also weighed in on the WNBA’s leadership future. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert recently announced she will retire at the end of 2026 after seven years running the league, a tenure the WNBA credits with major gains in attendance, viewership, franchise valuations and media revenue. The league is also expanding from 12 teams to 18 by 2030.
Cunningham said the top priority for the next commissioner should be making sure every franchise has an adequate practice facility. “There are teams in the WNBA — which, this is, we are the best league in the entire world — that there are people practicing at, like, YMCAs,” she said. “They’re sharing a court by a curtain when there’s, like, YMCA youth camps going on one side and a team practicing on the other. Is that not insane? A couple teams don’t even have a weight room.” She said some owners have been “very cheap” in failing to provide players with proper resources, adding, “That should be the bare freaking minimum.”
She also called for a commissioner who communicates directly with players, stays firm under pressure and can bring together a politically divided league. “They need to be bold. They need to be confident,” Cunningham said. “We’re not always going to agree, but I think there’s a level of respect that you can have and just being a human, being friendly and nice. I think that’s a really good start.”
Cunningham said “No Hesitation” will keep its focus on film study, strategy and the personalities in professional basketball, with new episodes releasing every Thursday.
