Riley Gaines offered American Eagle a bold marketing idea amid the controversy surrounding its Sydney Sweeney campaign. She suggested the brand consider featuring Caitlin Clark or Sophie Cunningham as the face of its next campaign.On Outkick’s Gaines for Girls podcast, the political activist praised Cunningham for consistently supporting Clark on and off the court. With Clark widely seen as the face of the league and Cunningham as her counterpart, Gaines argued that either Indiana Fever star could bring strong brand alignment to American Eagle’s future campaigns.“Sophie Cunningham has been Caitlin Clark's biggest cheerleader and defender,” Gaines said. “Caitlin Clark is the reason we have been talking about the WNBA. Hate it or love it. It's true. I don't believe that Caitlin Clark necessarily wants that title that everyone has been giving to her.“I think, especially with women, especially elite level athletes, there's a lot of people, women, who will kind of stab you in the back. There's a lot of jealousy, a lot of resentment, especially when you're good. Sophie just seems like such a girl's girl.“Maybe Caitlin Clark should do the next American Eagle campaign or Sophie Cunningham.”American Eagle faced backlash over its “Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans” campaign. Many critics argued that the brand promoted ideas of genetic superiority and white beauty standards, while also being unnecessarily sexualized.From Gaines’ perspective, featuring Clark or Sophie Cunningham in a future campaign could be a strategic move for the brand.Clark’s immense popularity in the sport could position the brand as aspirational. Meanwhile, Cunningham’s reputation as a supporter could help American Eagle project an image of reliability and loyalty toward its customers.Sophie Cunningham selects between Diana Taurasi and Caitlin ClarkSophie Cunningham began her career playing alongside Diana Taurasi with the Phoenix Mercury. Now, she has the opportunity to share the locker room with another generational point guard, Caitlin Clark. When asked to choose between the two, she avoided controversy by offering praise for both.“DT will always be my GOAT,” Cunningham said. “I’ve never met someone who thinks the game how she thinks. The way that she was a pro in doing her weights, her rehab. "The way she trained in the offseason when she was toward the end of her career, when she wasn’t going overseas. I’ve just never seen anything like that. But the way that Caitlin thinks of the game, that’s a really close second”.While Taurasi earned the GOAT title, Cunningham noted that the edge comes only because Clark is still at the very start of her career. She also made it clear that Clark has already shown many similarities with Taurasi.