Sophie Cunningham calls out coaches who are too soft on players

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham used her podcast this week to call out a trend she sees spreading through every level of sports: coaches who are too soft on their players.

Speaking on the No Hesitation Show, which she co-hosts with trainer Drew Hanlen, Cunningham did not hold back.

“Bring back hard coaching,” she said.

“That is why all of us pros are where we are, because we had coaches who truly cared about us and loved us and saw our full potential.”

She argued that the current generation of athletes is not being held to the same standard she experienced growing up.

“If we weren’t going hard enough, or we weren’t doing that, they were on our a**,” Cunningham said.

The WNBA veteran pointed to a specific moment that set off her frustration: a wide-open missed layup during Game 7 between the Atlanta Dream and the Golden State Valkyries.

“Why do we miss so many wide-open layups? It’s a joke. What the f— is that?” she said on the show.

Cunningham connected that moment to a broader problem in coaching culture.

“I do think that coaches are too soft on athletes nowadays,” she said.

She urged younger players to listen to the message behind a coach’s tone rather than focusing on the tone itself.

“Maybe it’s the parents, maybe it’s the athletes who can’t take it, but then y’all shouldn’t be in the sport because if your coach is on you, that means they see something in you,” Cunningham said.

Her comments reflect a debate that has been simmering across youth and professional sports for years.

Modern coaching philosophy has shifted in many programs toward a less confrontational, more supportive approach.

Some coaches and administrators argue that today’s athletes respond better to encouragement than to pressure.

Cunningham, who has played eight seasons in the WNBA, disagrees with that approach.

She believes the old-school method — demanding excellence and holding players accountable — is what produces elite competitors.

“That’s what makes athletes great,” she said.

Listeners of the podcast largely agreed with her stance.

One fan wrote, “Agreed. But Dying breed because too many institutions or parents trying to remove that from society let alone sports.”

Another replied, “If can’t take it from Coach how handle pressure of what’s out there.”

A third social media user wrote, “It’s hard to do because the administration in these schools are so soft and weak minded that god forbid u make the kids work harder.”

Cunningham’s comments come at a pivotal moment in her own career.

She is an unrestricted free agent this offseason after completing the 2026 season with the Fever.

During that season, she averaged 7.9 points per game and shot 41.9 percent from the three-point line — one of the best marks on the team.

Her future in Indiana is uncertain after the general manager who indicated Cunningham would be re-signed, Amber Cox, was fired.

Before her departure, Cox praised Cunningham’s role in the locker room.

“Sophie is a really solid leader in the locker room … she brings levity, but also brings a lot of experience,” Cox said.

“She’s serious and is an important voice in our locker room when we need it, when we really need to lock in.”

Cox added, “She’s an unrestricted free agent, so we look forward to having those conversations. She had a really productive year, and we’ll see just where things take us.”

Cunningham has not been shy about expressing her views on other topics, either.

She has spoken about protecting girls in sports and said her political beliefs are “very much in the middle.”

After Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in the 2026 midterm elections, Cunningham reshared an Instagram post from entrepreneur Andy Frisella.