Basketball player Sophie Cunningham, one of the most recognisable athletes in the WNBA, has shared a gospel message as she spoke of her reliance on faith.
Speaking on comedian Theo Von’s This Past Weekend podcast, Cunningham said she was encouraged by fellow athletes being “bold and courageous” in sharing their faith in Jesus; feeling as if there is a “revival” happening in elite sport and other areas in society.
The 30 year-old said: “I rely a lot on my faith because of what I do for a living: you get a lot of hate, you get a lot of praise. It keeps me stable and keeps me being who I am. I don’t care what people’s opinions are about me because I’m not living for their praise.”
Podcast host Von, who has recently opened up about his journey with Christian faith, said that he finds “connection” with God through prayer but regularly keeping it up was a challenge.
Cunningham empathised and shared an encouragement: “There’s nothing that you can or can’t do that’s going to separate you from God’s love and grace and forgiveness. That’s why Jesus came and died on the cross, because he already knew everything you were going to do. It’s up to you now to read the Bible [thinking about the] good, bad, how you’re going to represent. But you’re forgiven.”
Asked about Von’s belief that Christians are often treated poorly by the media, Cunningham commented on how athletes and people in the public eye are becoming more vocal about faith.
She said: “I do love that there’s more people coming out [to say] they are Christians and they are believers. I feel like there’s a revival happening. I love when people have the confidence to represent something bigger than themselves. Sometimes it can be scary, you never know how people are going to take that because people have bad experiences with the church or religious people.
“So when you see more and more people who have a huge platform, have a lot of eyes looking at them, it’s cool to see them be bold and courageous and come out about Jesus,” she added.
Von shared how he wants to speak to more “religious figures” on the podcast as it was “fun”, Cunningham encouraged him to speak to the scientists and historians who believe in Christ to discuss the “evidence”.
Having been raised Roman Catholic, Cunningham described herself now as more “non-denominational”. Previously, she told The Indianapolis Star that being baptised as an adult was “one of the best things I’ve done in my life”.
The Indiana Fever player regularly shares Christian content on her social media, to her 4.5 million followers on TikTok and 4.3 million followers on Instagram. The podcast episode has already racked up more than 2.2 million views on Youtube.