Sports Illustrated

Indiana Fever Guard Sophie Cunningham Warned by NFL Player After Recent Detroit Comments

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Nick Meyer | Last updated Jul 1, 2025 7:27 PM ET

The Detroit Lions have become one of the United States' favorite NFL teams in recent years with coach Dan Campbell leading his team to a 15-2 record last season and fan favorites including offensive lineman Dan Skipper making their presence felt.

Skipper re-signed with the Lions this offseason and could be in for a bigger role with the Lions after the offseason retirement of Frank Ragnow, which could cause a seismic shift on Detroit's offensive line.

On Tuesday, Skipper took to his X account to stick up for the city of Detroit amid controversial comments by Indiana player Sophie Cunningham about the WNBA's recent expansion team announcement.

"You ever been there?" Skipper asked on X.

"Pretty good place to play, well not for you now," the Lions lineman added along with a video of Cunningham's controversial comments questioning the WNBA's decision to grant Detroit an expansion team.

You ever been there? Pretty good place to play, well not for you now. https://t.co/YJEKazHkJE
— Dan Skipper (@DanSkipper70) July 1, 2025

Detroit is expected to receive its new WNBA team in 2029, 19 years after the Detroit Shock franchise moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma after winning three league titles following its 1998 debut.

The upcoming Detroit WNBA team's new ownership group is expected to include Lions owner Sheila Ford Hamp, Denise Ilitch, high profile sports agent Arn Tellem, former Pistons Grant Hill and Chris Webber with Detroit rapper Eminem a potential part of it.

The City of Detroit made a statement about Cunningham's comments on X, highlighting the Shock's number one attendance ranking for three straight seasons and a single-game attendance record in the 2003 WNBA Finals.

The last time we were home to a WNBA team (Detroit Shock) we ranked top five in attendance for five straight seasons, No. 1 in attendance for three straight seasons and set a single-game attendance record of 22,076 fans at Game 3 of the 2003 WNBA Finals.

Additionally more than… https://t.co/ePZhzQE1f3
— City of Detroit (@CityofDetroit) July 1, 2025