Pride of Detroit
WNBA player Sophie Cunningham questioned her league’s expansion to Detroit. Lions offensive tackle Dan Skipper had a response for her.
This week, it was announced that the WNBA is coming back to Detroit. Thanks to a campaign that included efforts and investments from Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff and team owner Sheila Hamp, the Detroit Shock will return to the league in 2029.
But not everyone is happy about that news. Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham expressed some skepticism over the cities chosen for expansion, which include Cleveland (2028) and Philadelphia (2030). Her argument is that there were better choices, and that WNBA players may not want to go to a city like Detroit.
“You want to listen to your players, too,” Cunningham said. “Where do they want to play? Are they going to get excited and draw fans? I do think that Miami would’ve been a great one. Everyone loves Florida. Nashville is an amazing city. Kansas City, amazing opportunity. There’s a huge arena downtown that no one is using. I think that the women’s soccer league is showing that people draw.”
“So I’m not so sure what the thought process is there. But at the end of the day, you also want to make sure that you’re not expanding our league too fast. I think that’s also another thing that—you don’t want teams to totally dominate and then have teams that aren’t. So I just think that it’s kind of a hard decision to make a team or a situation, but, man, I don’t know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or Cincinnati [sic: she meant Cleveland].”
That last line went viral on social media Tuesday, as many Detroiters—including the official City of Detroit Twitter account—jumped to defend the city. That included currently Lions offensive tackle Dan Skipper, who rightfully pointed out that she has now made herself an enemy to the city.
The official Lions account even jumped aboard.
The Detroit Shock were active from 1998 through 2009. In the midst of an economic downturn, the franchise was sold and relocated to Tulsa following the 2008-09 season. But at the team’s peak in Detroit, they won three championships, and as pointed out by the city’s Twitter account, the Shock produced top-five numbers in attendance for five straight years, including three years at No. 1.
