Sophie Cunninghams explosive social media growth during WNBAs transgender controversy revealed

The numbers seem to back up Sophie Cunningham’s security decisions.The free agent guard gained more Instagram followers this season than any of the other 49 most-followed WNBA players combined, and more than any NBA player, branding and social media agency bknown reported Tuesday.During a span stretching from May 8 to Nov.2 in looking at WNBA players and the NBA’s top 50 by followers, Cunningham reportedly gained over 2,952,195 followers.

Her following more than tripled during the season, going from 1,403,868 to 4,356,063 loyalists.The other top 49 WNBA players combined earned nearly two million more followers while Knicks star Jalen Brunson saw an increase of just over a million.Victor Wembanyama saw a plus-763,134 and Karl-Anthony Towns earned 384,306 more followers.

While Cunningham has said she loves bringing new eyes to the league, her exploding fandom, especially following her remarks on transgender athletes in women’s sports, has also brought unwanted ones on herself.So much so, the 30-year-old hired security to start traveling with her.“I will say… definitely in certain places people kind of knew who I was and I couldn’t really go anywhere,” Cunningham said on Monday’s installment of the “No Hesitation” podcast.“Now it doesn’t matter what state, what city, it’s everywhere.

And so I’ve hired security and they’re going to start traveling with me actually next week 24/7.So that’s a little different.

It kind of stops you from your regular routine.”The decision followed her admission on the “This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von” podcast that she has 20 stalkers that the FBI is watching for her.“There’s also a lot of kind of crazy people to,” Cunningham told Von.“We do have a lot of stalkers, I know I do… And that’s the negative side of things that people don’t think about… I have 20, I think, people kind of that the FBI are watching for me.”One of those Stalkers, Kevin Singh, delivered a package containing a ...