Dave Portnoy rages at Cathy Engelbert after latest

Dave Portnoy could not consider what he was watching during the Indiana Fever’s conflict against the Minnesota Lynx.

Heading into the matchup between two of the top groups in the WNBA, rather a lot had been made about Sophie Cunningham’s comments relating to trans athletes playing in women’s sports activities. Pundits and commentators on each side of the argument have their ideas identified, with quite a lot of conservatives backing the Fever star.

Portnoy, who’s a self-proclaimed fan of Caitlin Clark, took to social media to defend Cunningham after she seemingly was elbowed in the face by Lynx participant Nia Coffey in the 108-100 loss. The play occurred after Cunningham was backed by the White House on her comments relating to trans athletes.

On X, Portnoy posted a video of Cunningham being hit in the face by Coffey, with a caption aimed at WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “Sophie just got 17 of her teeth knocked out and they called her for the foul. Sick league @CathyEngelbert #wnba,” the Barstool Sports boss wrote.

The 49-year-old also spoke in the clip, sharing his ideas on the matter. “How about it WNBA refs? This is just a defensive foul. Thank you for the review. Just a defensive foul. No hostile act. Just a foul on Sophie Cunningham. They call that a foul on Sophie Cunningham,” he said sarcastically.

“She’s got 14 of her teeth on the ground. That’s a defensive foul and they reviewed it for a hostile act.

“Yeah, Sophie’s saying, ‘Hey, I just acquired my jaw broke. Is this a political stance? You just took 14 of my tooth. Yeah, quiet Sophie.’ No big deal. A defensive foul. Let’s watch this one more time. This is on Sophie? No, I do not suppose so. No, I do not suppose so. Elbow to the jaw to 14 tooth gone. That’s offensive. Yeah, Sophie, you bought your face knocked in. We see it.”

It was not just Portnoy who has shown support for Cunningham in recent days. Conservative pundit Riley Gaines, who has made it a point to express his displeasure about having trans athletes competing with women and girls, was in Minnesota to support Cunningham.

Gaines brought a sign reading “Sophie, Thank You – A Girl Mom” and claimed that WNBA officials approached her about it and reportedly told her to put it down. After the incident, the commentator took to social media to share her experience.

“There have been no fewer than 1000 indicators in the area. Most with trans paraphernalia. The only one that was told to place her signal down by WNBA officers was me. Wonder why,” she wrote on X. She added: “General rule of thumb is when Minneapolis boos for one thing, regular people applaud. I present up for my woman @sophaller because she exhibits up for my daughter.”

After the game, Cunningham posed for a photo with Gaines and Jennifer Sey, the founder and CEO of XX-XY Athletics, a company that claims it is “right here to guard women’s sports activities and areas.”