Sophie Cunningham says about thirty five people sent her the clip of Michael Porter Jr.’s comments, so she finally decided to speak on it. On her podcast, she confirmed she heard everything Porter said on the Ball in the Family podcast, where he and Lonzo Ball claimed they could have beaten a team of WNBA players when they were teenagers. Porter went even further, saying he could have done it in eighth grade. The comments blew up online, especially because Porter claimed he sharpened his skills against Cunningham. Fans quickly pointed out that she is two years older than him and was already at Missouri before he got there.
Even with all the backlash, Cunningham did not go after Porter. She said he was basically clickbaited and that the clip made things sound worse. She told her cohost that people are missing the bigger point he was trying to make. She said that if someone is already on track to be a professional athlete, whether in basketball or football, then yes, they should be able to beat female players. She said this does not surprise her at all and she does not understand why the topic keeps coming up.
Cunningham said that by eighth grade, future NBA players already have bodies and skill levels that are developing faster than most girls their age. From that angle, she thinks Porter is probably right. As players get older, the physical advantages get even clearer. She made it clear she is not being negative toward women. She said many women can outshoot men or pass better, but overall size and strength still matter in a matchup.
She ended by saying she does not want to be unrealistic or delusional. Men and women are simply built differently. She said that any NBA star could beat a female high school player, and that is just the truth.