The social media accounts for the cities of Cleveland and Detroit have pushed back at Sophie Cunningham after the Indiana Fever guard questioned the WNBA’s plan to expand into those markets.

Cunningham said Tuesday that she didn’t “know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or [Cleveland],” and identified Miami, Nashville and Kansas City as better alternatives for WNBA expansion cities.

The city of Cleveland’s official X account responded Tuesday by posting a video of Cunningham’s Fever teammate Caitlin Clark, who said last year that Cleveland was “awesome” during the 2024 Final Four.

The city of Cleveland also called out Cunningham in the post, saying “your teammate doesn’t seem to think Cleveland is too bad,” while adding that the city is “proud to have been chosen to host a WNBA team and any player who comes here will feel that legendary passion Cleveland sports fans show our teams!”

Sophie, your teammate doesn’t seem to think Cleveland is too bad!

We’re proud to have been chosen to host a WNBA team and any player who comes here will feel that legendary passion Cleveland sports fans show our teams! https://t.co/FVQ2NjkmdO pic.twitter.com/dVTCud6w7x

— City of Cleveland (@CityofCleveland) July 1, 2025

The city of Detroit also issued a response on X, citing the attendance success of its previous WNBA team — the Shock — and saying that “Detroit is a sports town. We’re sure we’ll see the same excitement for the WNBA returning.”

The WNBA announced Monday that expansion franchises in Cleveland (2028), Detroit (2029) and Philadelphia (2030) all would be joining the league over the next five years. All three teams announced have NBA ownership groups; the Detroit and Cleveland teams will play at the NBA arenas that currently exist, while Philadelphia is planning on a new building that will be completed hopefully by 2030.

Cunningham raised her concerns with the expansion plan during Tuesday’s shootaround before the Fever’s 74-59 victory over the Minnesota Lynx in the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup final.

“You want to listen to your players, too,” she said. “Where do they want to play? Where are they going to get excited to play and draw fans? I do think that Miami would have been a great [location]. Nashville is an amazing city. Kansas City, amazing opportunity.

“I’m not so sure what the thought process is there, but at the end of the day, you want to make sure that you’re not expanding our league too fast. I think that that’s also another thing. It’s kind of a hard decision-making situation. But man, I don’t know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or [Cleveland].”

Cunningham, a seven-year veteran who spent her first six years in Phoenix, did not speak to reporters after the game.

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Monday that a number of cities bid for expansion teams, including Miami, Nashville, Kansas City, Houston, St. Louis, Charlotte, Denver and Austin, Texas.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.