WNBA team reveals new ‘non-binary’ turtle mascot to taunt Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham

Nypost · 🇮🇳 public India · Aug 22, 2026 · 408 words · By Shane Galvin

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What to know about Gender Identity in Sports

WNBA team reveals new ‘non-binary’ turtle mascot to taunt Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 12

Techniques found 3

Topics 2

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center75%

Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

WNBA team reveals new ‘non-binary’ turtle mascot to taunt Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The New York Post on Google The Toronto Tempo debuted a new “non-binary” mascot ahead of their WNBA matchup with the Indiana Fever in an apparent swipe at controversial star Sophie Cunningham.

Common ground

The Tempo revealed Dez, a butch, non-binary Borealis Blue Snapping Turtle who uses she/they pronouns and “has a fondness for soft shell tacos,” the team said in an Tuesday announcement unveiling the new mascot.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Name Calling / Labeling, Manufactured Consensus: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Gender Identity in Sports story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that “I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men,” she told ESPN on Aug. 5?
How does this story connect Gender Identity in Sports with Culture War over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/08/22/us-news/wnba-team-reveals-new-mascot-to-taunt-indi…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 3 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 90% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

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Name Calling / Labeling 70% confidence

Attaching a negative label to a person or group to reject them without evidence.

Why it matters: Recognizing name calling / labeling helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Manufactured Consensus 80% confidence

Creating an illusion of widespread agreement that does not exist.

Why it matters: Recognizing manufactured consensus helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 12 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 6

help Insufficient Evidence 2

schedule Pending 2

verified Verified By Reference 1

info Single Source 1

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Claim 1: ““I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men,” she told ESPN on Aug. 5”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm the specific quote attributed to Sophie Cunningham on August 5.

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Claim 2: “The Toronto Tempo debuted a new “non-binary” mascot ahead of their WNBA matchup with the Indiana Fever”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent sources (TikTok, Yardbarker, and other web results) confirm the Toronto Tempo debuted a non-binary mascot during a game against the Indiana Fever.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 WNBA season is the 30th and current season of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The league expanded from 13 to 15 teams with the addition of the Portland Fire and Toronto Te…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_WNBA_season

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) expansion draft is an event hosted by the WNBA as needed that allows expansion teams to select from a pool of existing WNBA players to build their de…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WNBA_expansion_draft

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 WNBA expansion draft was the seventh expansion draft of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). The draft was held on April 3, 2026, for the Portland Fire and Toronto Tempo to sel…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_WNBA_expansion_draft

+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 3: “The Tempo revealed Dez, a butch, non-binary Borealis Blue Snapping Turtle who uses she/they pronouns”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources confirm the mascot is named Dez, a snapping turtle who is non-binary and uses she/they pronouns.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Toronto Tempo are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Tempo compete in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toronto_Tempo

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The Toronto Tempo's new mascot Dez, described as a ‘butch, non-binary’ snapping turtle, was revealed on the night the WNBA team played gender-realist Sophie Cunningham.
https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/wnba-team-unveils-non-bin…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The Toronto Tempo debuted a 'non-binary' turtle mascot at its game against Sophie Cunningham's Fever, seen as a swipe at the outspoken guard.
https://www.breitbart.com/sports/2026/08/22/wnba-toronto-tem…

+ 1 more evidence source

help

Claim 4: “On Aug. 8, the league’s players’ union issued a statement, writing in part, “We embrace justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion.””

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results regarding a players' union statement on August 8.

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Claim 5: “It joins the Seattle Storm’s Doppler as the only two non-binary mascots in the WNBA.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources state that Dez and the Seattle Storm's Doppler are the only two non-binary mascots in the WNBA.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — WNBA Mascots at the 2024 WNBA Skills Challenge.This is a list of Current WNBA Mascots in alphabetical order: Connecticut Sun Blaze[1]. Las Vegas Aces Bucket$[2]. Toronto Tempo Dez and Dot[3]. Seattle …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WNBA_Mascots

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Dez isn’t Toronto’s only mascot – she has a partner-in-crime named Dot, who is an arctic hare that uses she/her pronouns and is the “undisputed hype woman of the pair.” Dez is the second non-binary ma…
https://www.aol.com/articles/sage-steele-blasts-laughable-no…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — It joins the Seattle Storm's Doppler as the only two non-binary mascots in the WNBA.This is the new blue haired non-binary mascot for the WNBA�s Toronto Tempo team. Dez the turtle uses She/They pronou…
https://acecomments.mu.nu/?post=421092

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Claim 6: “The 30-year-old Missouri native”

CORROBORATED

Yahoo Sports and Basketball Network both confirm Sophie Cunningham is a 30-year-old Missouri native.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The 30-year-old Missouri native had clearly thought this through before.Sophie Cunningham reveals her surprising 67-year-old dream guy: “If he was younger and not married”.
https://www.basketballnetwork.net/off-the-court/sophie-cunni…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Happy Birthday, Sophie Cunningham. The Indiana Fever star guard is 30 years old on Sunday. Cunningham, who starred collegiately at the University of Missouri, began her career with the Phoenix Mercury…
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/fever-players-celebrate-so…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — At 18 years old, Sophie Cunningham was already one of the biggest names in Missouri basketball. A McDonald's All-American and standout at Rock Bridge High School, she stayed home to play for the Unive…
https://www.tiktok.com/discover/sophie-cunnigham-age

verified

Claim 7: “Dez also has a partner in crime, anthropomorphic arctic hare named Dot who uses standard she/her pronouns.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia explicitly lists Dez and Dot as the mascots for the Toronto Tempo, and web sources confirm Dot is an arctic hare who uses she/her pronouns.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Dez and Dot are the mascots for the Toronto Tempo. The former is a turtle and the latter is a hare.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dez_and_Dot

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of Current WNBA Mascots in alphabetical order: Connecticut Sun Blaze Las Vegas Aces Bucket$ Toronto Tempo Dez and Dot Seattle Storm Doppler New York Liberty Ellie the Elephant Indiana …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WNBA_Mascots

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 8: “immediately took to social media in the locker room to call out “white privilege.””

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 9: “The Fever beat the Tempo, 101-95.”

CORROBORATED

The score of 101-95 in favor of the Indiana Fever over the Toronto Tempo is reported by Al Jazeera, WRAL.com, and other web sources.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Julie Allemand (born 7 July 1996) is a Belgian professional basketball player for the Toronto Tempo of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) and for Fenerbahçe of the Turkish Women's Bask…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julie_Allemand

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 Indiana Fever season is the franchise's 27th season in the WNBA and their fourth under head coach, Stephanie White.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Indiana_Fever_season

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+ 4 more evidence sources

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Claim 10: “Dez is a Taurus”

CORROBORATED

Multiple web sources explicitly state that the Toronto Tempo described Dez as a Taurus.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Dez is calm, clever and always thinking a few steps ahead,” the team said in a statement. The Tempo also revealed that Dez is a Taurus, DJs in their spare time and loves a soft shell taco.
https://gomag.com/article/toronto-tempo-unveil-their-new-but…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The Tempo’s other new mascot, Dot, goes by she/her pronouns, loves cotton candy, and the team describes her as “the undisputed hype woman of the pair.” Many have speculated that Dez identifies as “non…
https://www.dailywire.com/news/wnba-teams-new-she-they-masco…

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web search NEUTRAL — The Tempo provided descriptions of their two new mascots: “Dez (she/they) is a Borealis Blue Snapping Turtle from Muskoka, Ontario.A Taurus who spins the 1s and 2s in their spare time, Dez’s secret ta…
https://toronto.citynews.ca/2026/08/18/tempo-unveil-dot-the-…

info

Claim 11: “Cunningham scored 13 points on 3-of-4 shooting, going 3-for-3 from behind the arc while snatching two rebounds and dishing out two more assists.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While Yardbarker confirms Cunningham scored 13 points and went 3-for-3 from three, the specific stats for rebounds and assists are not corroborated by other provided sources.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Cunningham scored 13 points while going 3-for-3 from three-point range. These were necessary points, as the Fever were hampered down the stretch without leading scorer Kelsey Mitchell on the court.
https://www.yardbarker.com/wnba/articles/sophie_cunningham_g…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — With a 25-16 record and three games remaining in the regular season, the Mystics have put themselves in a strong position heading into the playoffs.
https://fadeawayworld.net/wnba/freaking-hard-sophie-cunningh…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Watch Sophie Cunningham’s three-point highlights — smooth releases, clutch shots, and shot breakdowns from WNBA play. Perfect for basketball fans and shooters.
https://www.tiktok.com/discover/sophie-cunningham-scoring

schedule

Claim 12: “Cunningham, meanwhile, was on the receiving end of a flagrant foul from Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington, who was thrown out of the game after clotheslining the Fever star”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.