INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Fever have released two statements regarding comments made about or by members of their organization in recent days.
Late Wednesday night, Las Vegas Aces forward Brianna Turner, who spent the 2025 WNBA season with the Indiana Fever, made a series of posts on X, including one alleging that a male Fever staff member was fired for sexual harassment last season.
“Last year on my WNBA team a male staff member was fired for sexual harassment, but we were encouraged to keep quiet about it,” Turner wrote in her post. “That is an issue. Sexism, misogyny, homophobia, and racism are all issues.”
Turner, who also referred to the incident as “an issue that has caused problems,” spent just the 2025 season with Indiana before moving in during the 2026 offseason.
In the morning following Turner’s post, the Indiana Fever sent a statement to The IX and two other outlets.
“Protecting our players and employees and maintaining a respectful, professional workplace is our top priority,” the statement began. “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.”
Turner’s post was the third one in a nine-post thread that was primarily focused on advocacy for transgender people and athletes. The first post from Turner was a quote tweet in response to a video of Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve speaking out against bans on transgender athletes in sports.
In another post of the thread, Turner referenced her time at Notre Dame, where she took classes and “became better educated on the trans community. My studies have led me to be inclusive.”
Listen now to The IX Sports Podcast and Women’s Sports Daily
We are excited to announce the launch of TWO new podcasts for all the women’s sports fans out there looking for a daily dose of women’s sports news and analysis. Stream on Spotify, Apple Podcasts or anywhere you listen to podcasts, and make sure to subscribe!
Turner has been outspoken about issues affecting transgender people for years and brought more awareness to them through the Phoenix Mercury’s “My Kicks, My Cause,” initiative in 2021.
Turner’s posts came on the same day that her former teammate Sophie Cunningham, whom she played with in Phoenix and Indiana, said in an ESPN story 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.”
Cunningham said that stance was her being honest. On Wednesday, before the Fever took on the Connecticut Sun, Cunningham was asked to expand on her viewpoint by a group of about a half-dozen reporters.
“I think I said what I said,” Cunningham responded. “I think it’s kind of common sense. And I think I’ll always believe in that. I think it’s really important to protect children. And that’s little girls who are also involved in that category. And so I stand on what I said, and I always believe that.”
A follow-up question for Cunningham wondered if she would take part in any advocacy regarding her beliefs going forward, something she was unsure about.
“Becoming Caitlin Clark” is out now!
Howard Megdal’s newest book is here! “Becoming Caitlin Clark: The Unknown Origin Story of a Modern Basketball Superstar” captures both the historic nature of Clark’s rise and the critical context over the previous century that helped make it possible, including interviews with Clark, Lisa Bluder (who also wrote the foreword), C. Vivian Stringer, Jan Jensen, Molly Kazmer and many others.
“I don’t know. I’m not a very political person,” Cunningham said. “But I do have beliefs. I have morals, and I’ll always stand on those and be true to who I am. And I think people are going to take it how they want to take it, but I’ve never even really said anything about that. And so, when it comes just to protecting young girls in sport and women in sport, I feel very strongly about that. I think that’s why you have Title IX. That’s why you have some of the greats in women’s sports. If Title IX and women’s sports weren’t protected, then you wouldn’t hear about any type of women in sports. And so I think in the future it’s just really important to protect.”
Cunningham was also asked about her words being viewed as targeted against the trans community, which she denied.
“Like I said, I extend love, and I don’t dislike anyone,” she began. “I think there is room for absolutely everyone here, and I think there’s room to love everyone. I truly think when you get people in the same room, and you have conversations, you actually have a lot in common with a lot of people. And so I’m there to love, but I’m also there to love biological women. And I think that there are rights that need to be protected. And like I said, I’m going to stand true to that. I’ll never falter in my beliefs in that. But I have never once said I hated the trans community. Like I said, I think there’s space for everyone.”
After Cunningham’s comments from the ESPN article and shootaround began to make the rounds on social media, the Fever shared a statement with a few reporters during their game against the Connecticut Sun that evening.
“Our players are thoughtful adults with their own perspectives and voices, and those views are their own. We are committed to welcoming fans from every background and treating everyone with respect, and that’s what guides us as an organization.”
