If you’re keeping score in the woke wars, the WNBA’s Sophie Cunningham just put big-time points on the board when she stood up for women’s sports. Not only has that earned her a whole lot of new fans, it’s also proven just how profitable political sanity can be. In the latest object lesson for pro sports, this Indiana Fever guard — like so many Christian athletes before her — is showing management that courage sells. A lot.

Cunningham, whose star was already rising as Caitlin Clark’s on-the-court protector, came into her own long before this latest brush with the mob. But when she bluntly told ESPN that her responsibility isn’t just to spread love but also the truth, it rubbed some LGBT activists the wrong way. “I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that,’” she told ESPN. Without flinching, she had declared, “I want to protect young girls in a locker room or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.” When some corners of social media tried to shame her, Sophie didn’t blink. “I think it’s really important to protect children, and that’s little girls who are also involved in that category. I stand on what I said.”

Wading into an explosive cultural issue can be punishing, but fortunately for Cunningham, her position isn’t just morally sound, it’s universally popular. Eighty percent of Americans agree with the Fever standout that men have no place in girls’ sports — including 67% of Democrats. Still, people were taken aback by just how strongly the country rallied behind Sophie, buying out her $120-a-pair Adidas shoe collaboration the instant they hit the market. After she tweeted a video of a van full of her new “The Crazy Energy ‘Sophie Cunningham PE’” with the caption, “who’s ready for the drop?” the men’s and women’s sizes sold out in a single hour.

It was an astonishing show of support, even to Cunningham, who posted in awe, “you guys really showed up! nothing but genuine love for yall.” Her jersey sales also skyrocketed, second now to just Clark. It’s just “all so perfect,” former ESPN commentator and outspoken girls’ sports defender Sage Steele celebrated. “[N]ot only does principle matter, speaking the truth can be a really good business move as well.”

That’s been the case for every athlete willing to take the professional risk to be outspoken about their conservative beliefs. Ivan Provorov, the first NHL defenseman who refused to wear a Pride uniform (sparking an entire players’ rebellion in the league that ultimately overturned the outrageous policy), sold out his jerseys overnight. The Kansas City Chiefs’ kicker Harrison Butker surpassed even quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce after a graduation speech at Benedictine College that expressed his deep Catholic faith and the importance of family values.

In this instance, “Everybody knows that men have a physical advantage over women,” Steele insisted. “… It’s exactly why most women’s basketball teams practice against men on every level — high school, college, WNBA. … [W]hy? Because men are bigger and stronger and faster,” she underscored. “No other woman in the WNBA has been willing to do [this]. She stood up for other women. She stood up for common sense. It’s actually been maddening, frankly, to witness so many women choose to ignore the obvious and basically virtue signal.”

That, Steele argues, is “probably why so many companies just chose to go along with the insanity, go along with the wokeness. Because if women don’t stand up and put an end to this foolishness, if we don’t stand up for ourselves, I’m sure these companies are thinking, ‘Why should we? Let’s just play it safe and let’s just stay quiet.’ And that’s exactly what has happened. But Sophie Cunningham, she chose to do the opposite. She spoke up. She’s the one with the courage to do the right thing. And that, frankly, is the kind of woman that I want my daughters to look up to.”

Unfortunately, Cunningham is swimming against a woke tide in the WNBA, which continues to embrace the far-Left, despite the nationwide pushback. The league’s extremism was on full display again last weekend when officials refused to approve patriotic “USA 250” patches on the women’s All-Star jerseys, making it the only pro sport to reject them.

In an absurd statement before Saturday’s game, WNBPA Treasurer Brianna Turner argued that the patch was an insult to the league. “No WNBA players would have been free 250 years ago. The majority wouldn’t even have their freedom 100 years ago.”

The league had initially approved the uniform additions but pulled the plug for some inexplicable reason that wasn’t communicated to the press. Nothing about the idea should have been controversial. After all, USA Today explained, “Multiple professional sports or entertainment entities have worn patches or emblems to commemorate the country’s semiquincentennial, including at the Super Bowl, Wrestlemania 42, NBA Finals and MLB All-Star Game earlier this month, among many others. The patches were in partnership with the nationally nonpartisan and congressionally backed America250 organization, with celebrations and events happening throughout the year.”

While none of the WNBA players refused to wear the patches publicly, a few officials hinted at backlash they might get for doing anything that could be construed as an endorsement of the Trump administration. “We all have different viewpoints,” Minnesota Lynx Coach Cheryl Reeve acknowledged. “… And I think that can be a really difficult balancing act.”

Judging by the staggering support for Cunningham, it’s not nearly as difficult as the league is making it out to be. If the WNBA were smart, Riley Gaines and others stress, they’d lean into Sophie and her values. At the very least, they could create a safe space for players to live out their beliefs.

“Being able to follow Jesus in the WNBA, I will say, you’ve gotta be a trailblazer,” Cunningham leveled with one reporter. “You’ve gotta be strong in your faith, because you’re not surrounded by other believers who are pushing you to be more like Jesus.” That said, “There [are] a lot more believers than you would actually expect [in the WNBA],” Sophie noted, “because a lot of people don’t speak out about it. I think our league [wants] to have a certain look … and if you speak out against it, sometimes they want to hush you, but that’s not what I’m here for,” she emphasized. “I am loud, I am confident, and I think being actually a woman of God, it’s allowed me to walk into rooms with my shoulders back. And I have a different type of swag and confidence about me because I know God has me,” Cunningham stated.

Maybe it’ll take more players like Sophie to fundamentally transform the league. At least for now, it should be abundantly clear to the decision-makers of the WNBA where fans stand. It’s time to bounce political activism — once and for all.