"She obviously hasn't visited Detroit" - Detroiters shred Sophie Cunningham for critiquing WNBA's expansion in Motor City over Miami

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham drew criticism from many fans for her comments about one of the WNBA's expansion cities, Detroit.

On Monday, the league announced that there will be three new expansion teams aside from Portland and Toronto, which will debut in 2026. The WNBA awarded Detroit an expansion team that will begin in the 2029 season, while Cleveland will have a team in 2028 and Philadelphia in 2030.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Cunningham questioned whether players would be "excited to play" in the expansion locations.

"You want to listen to your players, too. Where do they want to play?" Cunningham said. "Where are they going to get excited to play and draw fans? I think Miami would have been a great one. ... Nashville is an amazing city. Kansas City, amazing opportunity. There’s a huge arena downtown that no one is using.

"But man, I don’t know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or (Cleveland)."

The official X account of the city government of Detroit quote-tweeted a clip of Cunningham's controversial remarks. The account highlighted the high attendance record of the Detroit Shock, which played in the league from 1998 until 2009.

Many Detroit fans were upset about Cunningham's comments.

that blonde from nashville, esq.

@thehaileemurphy

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the Detroit Shock have won more championships than she has

nick

@N_Penn10

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I don’t think these people realize that Detroit and Cleveland are 2 of the biggest sports cities in the country

that’s why we have all the major sports being played in these 2 places

Here are other reactions:

Lo ✨❤️‍🔥

@LoDxne

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😭😭😭 not the city page came on to clock her

culliganman1

@Cdawgger5

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Yea she obviously hasn’t visited Detroit for any sporting event

Rob D'Oria

@robdoria

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...and importantly, it's not Indiana.

Sophie Cunningham is in her first season with the Fever after being acquired via an offseason trade with the Phoenix Mercury. The 6-foot-1 guard is averaging 5.6 points and 4.1 rebounds in 11 games off the bench.

The ownership group of the Detroit expansion team will be led by Tom Gores, who is the owner of the Detroit Pistons. Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff and former Pistons stars Grant Hill and Chris Webber will also have minority ownership stakes in the team, per ESPN.

Other cities that submitted a bid for an expansion team included: St. Louis, Kansas City, Austin (Texas), Nashville, Houston, Miami, Denver and Charlotte.

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Detroit native Jemele Hill chimes in on Sophie Cunningham's viral critique

Political commentator and sports journalist Jemele Hill, who was born in Detroit, chimed in on Sophie Cunningham's viral comments about Detroit.

"Sis, you play in Indiana. No disrespect," Hill tweeted Tuesday.

Hill also responded to a fan who said she forgot that Indiana is a "basketball country."

"And she’s unfortunately too young to know Detroit was ranked top 5 in attendance when we had the Shock, and won three titles in 6 years. I’m fully aware of Indiana’s basketball pedigree but she took a silly shot at Detroit for no reason, when she should be embracing league expansion because of what it means for players," Hill wrote.

Before joining ESPN, Hill started her career as a journalist with the Detroit Free Press, mainly covering Michigan basketball and football.

By 2030, the WNBA will have 18 teams. According to ESPN, the Detroit team will play at Little Caesars Arena, the home of the Detroit Pistons. With regards to the team name, the ownership group said that they will do their due diligence, but will consider the previous name, Shock.