Jennifer Sey reveals alleged communication with Sophie Cunningham amid recruitment pitch for XX-XY Athletics

Jennifer Sey is ready to make Sophie Cunningham the face of XX-XY Athletics and says she would “give my right arm” to convince the WNBA star to leave Adidas for her own brand.

Sey, founder and CEO of the pro-women activewear brand, told Fox News Digital that she had been looking to sign Cunningham ever since the Indiana Fever star specifically praised XX-XY Athletics’ viral “Dear Nike” campaign in 2024.

“He is the perfect person for us,” Sey said. “We’ve wanted to work with him for a long time.”

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“It’s not just that he’s a great athlete, it’s not just that he’s a professional athlete competing right now,” he added. “He has such an incredible personality. He’s fun, he’s funny, he’s tough, and he says what he thinks, and that’s what we’re going for.”

Sey revealed that he first initiated communication with Cunningham after XX-XY Athletics released “Dear Nike” in October 2024. The ad called on the sportswear giant to take a public stance against biological males competing in women’s sports and garnered more than 10 million views.

Sey claimed that Cunningham liked and commented on the original ad, then sent Sey a private direct message on social media praising the ad. However, Sey said he could not see the message for months because it fell into a folder containing messages from accounts he did not follow.

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“He liked it and commented on it. He actually wrote me a DM on Instagram, which I haven’t seen in months because I’m an idiot and never check the little tab from people I don’t know,” Sey claims.

“Because there are so many people there, I never looked and didn’t follow her. I didn’t know who she was. And then a few months later, at this point, she started coming off as Caitlin.” [Clark]Advocate of… I checked the random tab from unknown messages and he had DM’d me about the ad, he really liked Dear Nike and I was like ‘Oh my God, I should have… How did I miss that?’ I said. “I should have responded months ago.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to Cunningham’s representatives for comment.

Cunningham is currently under contract with Adidas, which is set to launch its first player-specific shoe on Friday. The Adidas Crazy Energy “Sophie Cunningham” PE will retail for $120. This is a Cunningham colorway of an existing Adidas model, not a signature shoe created specifically for him. Adidas recently introduced the Crazy Energy series.

But Sey hopes Cunningham will eventually leave Adidas.

“I would do everything in my power to get him to leave Adidas and come to work with us,” Sey said. “I don’t know if there’s a chance Sophie could do this, but I’d give my right arm for her to do it.”

Sey criticized Adidas for not publicly endorsing Cunningham’s position since the WNBA star made her position public.

“Adidas is not a brand that supports women,” Sey said.

Sey also pointed out that Adidas’ 2023 Pride campaign includes a male model wearing swimsuits sold in the women’s section. Adidas said at the time that the collection supported LGBTQIA+ advocacy and self-acceptance. Sey also criticized the company’s sponsorship of the Boston Marathon, whose rules allow transgender athletes to qualify in their own gender categories, although eligibility for prize money is regulated by World Athletics standards.

“Even now, with so much backlash, it’s out of the question for Adidas to come out and say, ‘We stand with Sophie. We agree that women’s sports should be protected,'” Sey said. “They are silent.”

“They just want to take advantage of spoiled Sophie who points it out,” he added. “When he says something that makes people angry, they don’t actually want to stand around him.”

Still, Sey praised Adidas for not dropping Cunningham as a customer since he made the comments.

“It says something has changed in the culture around this issue. They’re not letting it go,” Sey said.

Sey acknowledged that XX-XY could not match Adidas’ financial resources. But he said his brand could offer Cunningham something the global sportswear company couldn’t: top billing and unconditional support.

Sey previously served as chief marketing officer and global brand president for Levi Strauss & Co. While at Levi’s, he said he personally negotiated partnerships with celebrities and often sold potential ambassadors on the relationship rather than the biggest check possible.

“I wasn’t offering top dollar,” Sey said. “I was offering the best partnership.”

Asked how much he would offer Cunningham, Sey declined to give a figure.

“I would scrape together as much money as I could to get him a favorable deal, but I’m not going to pretend I can pay what Adidas can pay,” Sey said. “It will be more fun to work together.”

“We will not have a third-rate athlete in our squad. He will be number one,” Sey added. “And he can say whatever he wants, and we’ll have his back.”

Sey also offers greater than traditional support for Cunningham.

After the WNBA Players Association refused to allow group licensees to commercialize Cunningham’s viral sign image, Sey released a silhouette modeling the pose. The union called the image “degrading” according to the initial report, but later clarified that it generally avoids money-making conflicts among its members. He explained that Cunningham was free to license or create his own products.

Sey offered to produce a hoodie featuring the silhouette and give all the proceeds to Cunningham. He now plans to use it as the logo for a Cunningham line under XX-XY, similar to how Michael Jordan’s Jumpman pose became the symbol of Jordan Brand.

“Sophie can carry her brand with us, like Jordan, and that’s what the logo is,” Sey said.

“This must be the logo for the XX-XY Cunningham collection.”

Cunningham’s profile has risen sharply since joining Caitlin Clark and the Fever in 2025. She became known as Clark’s on-court defender, then became one of the WNBA’s most recognizable personalities after her extended finger-pointing with Phoenix Mercury veteran DeWanna Bonner went viral in June.

The 29-year-old guard is also experiencing one of his most productive seasons. Cunningham entered the All-Star break averaging 9.3 points, shooting 47.4% from the field and 42.9% from three-point range.

Its growing popularity has gone beyond basketball. Cunningham recently appeared as a guest ring girl at UFC 329, building her image around an outspoken, humorous and combative personality.

Then she delved into one of the most divisive issues in women’s sports.

Cunningham told ESPN this week that she wants to protect girls in sports who “shouldn’t be facing biological males” or sharing locker rooms with them. He later doubled down on his position, calling it “common sense” while insisting he does not hate transgender people.

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“I said what I said,” Cunningham told reporters Wednesday. “I think it’s really important to protect children, and little girls fall into that category. I stand by what I said.”

The Fever responded by saying their players were entitled to their own opinions.

“Our players are thoughtful adults with their own perspectives and voices, and those opinions are their own,” the organization said. “We are committed to welcoming fans from all walks of life and treating everyone with respect, and that is what drives us as an organization.”