Indiana Fever player Sophie Cunningham has exploded as a viral trend for her actions (and off-court photos) after phenom Caitlin Clark ended up on the floor during the Fever’s intense Tuesday, June 17 game against the Connecticut Sun.
However, the opinion is divided. On the one hand, Cunningham’s jersey has sold out. On the other hand, there’s a new petition seeking to get her removed from the WNBA, complete with a red X over her face.
She’s being called Clark’s “enforcer” by supporters but blasted for a “dirty move” by others after she delivered a hard foul to Sun player Jacy Sheldon near the end of the game.
Supporters see the hard foul as a response to an earlier incident, in which Clark “got poked in the face by Sheldon,” according to Sports Illustrated, before being “shoved to the ground by the Sun’s Marina Mabrey.” Sheldon was given a Flagrant 1 foul, and both Clark and Mabrey initially received technical fouls, according to SI. Some people thought that Mabrey should have been ejected.
Cunningham struck back at Sheldon later in the game with the hard foul, which resulted in her being tossed from the game with a flagrant 2 foul of her own, according to MLive. A fight then broke out on the court, and more technical and flagrant fouls resulted.
Connecticut Sun Coach Rachid Mezian called Cunningham’s foul “disrespectful” and “stupid,” especially because the Fever was so far ahead when it happened.
Many people are saying that the refs need to get better control of the game. The WNBA ended up fining both Cunningham and Mabrey and upgraded Mabrey’s foul to a Flagrant 2, SI reported.
“Sophie Cunningham's repeated displays of unsportsmanlike conduct during games against the Connecticut Sun have reached a point where decisive action is necessary,” the petition says, although it only received 193 signatures in two days.
However, Cunningham’s stock also rose with Clark fans upset at the physical play against her, and it sent Cunningham's jersey sales through the roof. The jersey sold out at Fanatics, but fans can still customize a Fever jersey with Cunningham’s name, according to MLive.
Some Clark fans supported Cunningham online in the wake of the fracas, and videos and photos of Cunningham walking through stadiums in various outfits turned heads online.
Her Instagram page is full of them.
“After having Caitlin Clark’s back, everyone will know who Sophie Cunningham is now,” a fan wrote on X.
Cunningham's WNBA bio says she is a 6-foot-1-inch guard who played for Missouri. She has appeared in 53 WNBA games.
