Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham has become the latest setback for coach Stephanie White’s team, casting more doubt on their playoff chances.
Cunningham went down early in the second quarter of Sunday’s game against the Connecticut Sun after Bria Hartley drove to the rim and dished a pass. Hartley lost her balance, crashing into Cunningham’s knee.
The sequence drew an emotional response from the Fever fan base—and especially Cunningham’s family. Her sister, Lindsey, took to social media to voice her frustration.
“.@WNBA maybe you should focus less on fining players for commenting on your poor officiating & more about hiring officials that are able to call a consistent game and protect your athletes. Pathetic. Praying for you .@sophaller 🙏🏼❤️,” Lindsey posted.
Sophie’s mother, Paula, also weighed in with sharper words: “Hartley is a disgruntled player having trouble everywhere she goes; she’s plain mean and plays out of control.” She later deleted the tweet.
But not everyone agreed with the Cunninghams’ assessment. Sports physician Brian Sutterer, who often breaks down injuries online, reviewed the play and said it looked accidental.
“I will be honest, watching this video replay, there’s nothing to me that screams intentional here. To me, this is a player who’s coming to drive. They stop, as we often see with players driving into the lane, the momentum carries them forward,” he explained. “She doesn’t turn her body to then fall more into Cunningham. … Truly, this is just an unfortunate thing that’s going to happen whenever you’re playing high-level sports.”
Hartley herself has stayed quiet, but the replay suggests it was simply bad timing more than anything malicious.
Teammates rally around Sophie Cunningham
While Sophie Cunningham faces the possibility of a season-ending knee injury, she’s still trying to keep spirits high. On Sunday, she shared an Instagram carousel of her recent on- and off-court moments, drawing an outpouring of love in the comments.
“slayyyy babesss,” wrote Aliyah Boston.
“Last slide,” Sydney Colson added.
“you >” Lexie Hull posted.
The Fever confirmed that Cunningham will undergo an MRI on Monday to determine the extent of the damage. With nine regular-season games left, Indiana can only hope her injury isn’t as serious as it first appeared, and that she might still return for a late playoff push.
For more basketball content, click on Hardwood Heroics. Sabel Reyes can be reached through sabelreyes22@gmail.com. Other websites under the Sports Heroics umbrella are Gridiron Heroics and Wisconsin Heroics.
Sabel has been working as a field reporter for People’s Television Network (PTV), mainly about the Philippine Basketball Association since 2016 and has been elevated to Executive Producer for sports in 2022. Aside from being on top of the Philippine sports scene, she is also a running enthusiast. You can also follow her on X at @SabelReyes2 and Instagram at @msabelreyes.
