WNBA Guard Sophie Cunningham Tells Theo Von How Faith Helps Her Handle Praise and Criticism

Sophie Cunningham hears plenty from people who love watching her play and from people who have already made up their minds about her. The Indiana Fever guard told comedian Theo Von that both reactions come with playing professional basketball. Her Christian faith, she said, helps her keep either one from determining how she sees herself. "I'm not living for their praise," she said.

Cunningham appeared on the Oct. 28 episode of This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von, where the two discussed her public persona, WNBA drama and the push for better player pay. When the conversation turned to religion, Cunningham spoke about relying on her faith in a profession where public opinion can swing between admiration and hostility. She also said she sees more people with large audiences speaking openly about their Christian beliefs. "I feel like there's a revival happening," she told Von.

Von raised a question about the faith he hears athletes talk about. How much of it reflects what they believe, and how much is for show? Cunningham answered by describing the people closest to her. Many in her inner circle share her faith, she said, while some athletes don't, and she's comfortable with that. Her own experience helps explain why she welcomes hearing people with prominent platforms talk openly about Jesus.

Cunningham told Von she was raised Catholic and now identifies as nondenominational. She said she currently has no home church. Earlier this year, she shared a video of her baptism at Christ's Church of the Valley in Phoenix, Arizona. She had been baptized as a child and described getting baptized again as a decision she wanted to make for herself as an adult. She later spoke about that choice at a Fever press conference.

The conversation grew more personal when Von talked about his own prayer life. He told Cunningham that prayer was his favorite part of his faith, but that when he gets busy, he can feel disconnected from God. He wished that connection were stronger. Cunningham answered by reassuring him, and anyone listening who felt the same way, that God's love and forgiveness are still there.