Indiana Fever forced to issue statement after former player’s damaging accusation

Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham caused quite a stir with her recent comments about transgender athletes. On Wednesday, the 29-year-old went viral after saying that she wants to “protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”

Her former Fever teammate, Bri Turner, had a lot to say about the polarizing subject. The 6-foot-3 forward-center, who now plays for the Las Vegas Aces, took to social media to defend transgender athletes. In one of her posts, she exposed the Fever for allegedly firing a male employee last season over sexual harassment.

“To date there’s been one out trans player in the league. They caused zero problems,” Turner wrote on X on Wednesday, via ESPN. “An issue that has caused problems though? Last year on my WNBA team a male staff member was fired for sexual harassment, but we were encouraged to keep quiet about it. That is an issue.”

Indiana Fever forward Natasha Howard (6), guard Sophie Cunningham (8), forward Aliyah Boston (7), guard Aari McDonald (2) and guard Kelsey Mitchell (0) against the Phoenix Mercury.

Indiana Fever issues statement after sexual harassment allegations

The Fever did not address Turner’s comments directly. However, the organization issued an official statement about prioritizing their players’ well-being.

“Protecting our players and employees and maintaining a respectful, professional workplace is our top priority,” the Fever said. “Our policy is to take concerns seriously, investigate thoroughly, and act promptly when appropriate to protect the people in our organization and ensure everyone is treated with professionalism and respect. Fostering trust and safety in that process means we do not comment on personnel matters involving former employees.”

The Fever neither denied nor confirmed whether Turner’s comments were factual — both with an employee supposedly being fired and if they instructed their players to be “quiet about it.”

Turner played just one season for Indiana. The two-time All-Defensive frontcourt player averaged 1.1 points and 1.9 rebounds in just 8.6 minutes per game. She made 27 appearances for the Fever last season before signing with the Aces in free agency ahead of the 2026 campaign.