Sophie Cunningham hasn’t exactly been shy about where she stands with WNBA officials. The Indiana Fever guard has been fined more than once this year, and most of those hits came after something she said on her podcast or threw out on social media about refereeing.
Fresh off knee surgery, Cunningham’s been catching games from home, and it didn’t take long before the whistles got under her skin again. On the latest “Show Me Something” podcast with West Wilson, she zeroed in on how physical Fever games have been lately — and the refs letting it slide.
She pointed to an August 24 clash with the Minnesota Lynx, when Kayla McBride caught Lexie Hull with an elbow. Cunningham stressed she has no issue with McBride, but her frustration came back to the stripes.
“I was high on meds, but it still triggered my hate for the refs,” Cunningham said. “They were playing Minnesota, which Minnesota is a great, great team. But I think that whas is was kind of getting out of hand is the refs are allowing it to be too physical. And then people can get away with certain stuff, and then that’s when emotions flare. And that’s when you kind of see fights or people doing things that they probably shouldn’t be doing.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jpeyhf42u48
Her gripe? If she had thrown that elbow, she figures she would’ve been tossed. McBride, meanwhile, only drew a tech and stayed in the game.
Lexie Hull’s rough week didn’t stop there. Against Seattle, she took a collision with Gabbie Williams that left a knot on her head the size of a tennis ball. Thankfully, she cleared concussion protocol and was able to return.
Sophie Cunningham warns WNBA rivals as recovery takes shape
While her teammates fight through their own bumps, Sophie Cunningham’s still on the mend from an MCL tear. It’s been just over two weeks since surgery, and on Tuesday ,she let fans in on how recovery is going.
“starting to feel like me again so y’all better watch tf out,” she wrote, emojis included.
Before the injury, Cunningham was good for 8.6 points, 3.5 boards, and a steal across 30 outings. Solid, steady minutes that matter for a team pushing for the postseason. Now, the Fever are without her and Caitlin Clark, and it’s showing.
Cunningham’s rehab is moving forward, though, and judging by her words, she’s eager to be back — sooner rather than later.
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.
