Colin Cowherd took his interview with Sophie Cunningham in a whole new direction, one the WNBA star didn’t expect.

Cunningham has been at the center of the debate over trans athletes in women’s sports after she told ESPN that she favored keeping biological men out of women’s sports but did not hate trans people.  

The Fever forward was on “The Colin Cowherd Podcast” on Friday to discuss the rebranding of her podcast from “Show Me Something” to “No Hesitation,” on Cowherd’s network. 

The move included a switch in co-hosts from “Summer House” star and childhood friend Will West to prominent basketball trainer Drew Hanlen, as the new venture aims to be more basketball-heavy.

West at one point openly disagreed with Cunningham’s stance on transgender athletes in women’s sport, and she called the speculation over that being the reason for the change “dumb.”

With so much going on around the 30-year-old Cunningham, Cowherd awkwardly shifted the interview off the court in a way that happily caught her off guard. 

“You are kind of viewed a little bit as the league’s … ummm,” Cowherd, 62, said, as he searched for the best way to phrase his question.

“Just say it,” Cunningham replied. “I don’t care.”

“Sex symbol,” he responded, before asking if that was a fair assessment. 

“That is way better,” said Cunningham. “I thought you were gonna go somewhere completely different.”

Cowherd later praised Cunningham’s physical play and reluctance to back down from anyone – as she has often served as an on-court protector for Indiana star Caitlin Clark – along with her style.

“You’re tough. You’ll fight anybody. You’ll taunt anybody,” Cowherd said. “But you’ll make sure, coming into the arena, ‘I look good, and I want you to know…’”

While that could be said about many of the WNBA’s stars in a league that has certainly put a focus on its athletes’ style while arriving for games, Cunningham, who has sparked both support rallies and in-arena booing for her stance on transgender athletes, has been front and center in that area of late.

She posed for this year’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue and served as an impromptu ring girl at UFC 329 for Conor McGregor’s ill-fated return.

Cunningham has no problem taking the compliment.

“For some reason, our society, if you play basketball, you can’t dress that way, or you can’t be girly,” Cunningham said. “No one’s ever said it, but it’s like, they kind of feel that you can’t be both. Screw all that. Yes, you can. You can be girly, and you can go out and kick someone’s ass.”