Before she became “The Enforcer” in the WNBA, Sophie Cunningham was lining up in shoulder pads.
The Indiana Fever guard’s high school football past resurfaced after ESPN Originals posted a TikTok clip that quickly spread on X. The video showed Cunningham and her mom, Paula, revisiting her short stint as a kicker, including the time she got leveled on the field.
“I was actually in a boot, ’cause of a stress fracture, so I shouldn’t even have been doing it, but it was our rival school,” Cunningham recalled.
Her mom added context: “Our kicker on the football team got injured, and so at that point, the head coach and some of the other coaches were talking, and they knew Sophie, and they thought, ‘Well, maybe, you know, she could.’ They saw her kick, and maybe she would be interested, so they asked her.”
Sophie Cunningham didn’t hesitate. “Our coach was like, ‘Hey, we need you to kick. Do you want to?’ and I was like, ‘Well, heck, yeah!’ It was awesome, I got tackled once, and I still have the scar from it.”
The throwback clip showed her drilling a kick in full gear — proof that she had some natural ability on the gridiron. Still, basketball was where she made her name, starring at Missouri for four years and averaging 17.0 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game.
“See ya on the other side”: Sophie Cunningham begins rehab after season-ending injury
That competitive spirit now carries into her rehab. Sophie Cunningham’s debut season with Indiana ended abruptly after she tore her right MCL in a win over the Connecticut Sun, colliding with Bria Hartley. The injury required surgery, but Cunningham kept things positive, posting a hospital selfie with the caption: “See ya on the other side :).”
Despite the setback, she’s already built a reputation with Fever fans. Cunningham embraced the “Enforcer” role after standing up for Caitlin Clark and became a spark off the bench, playing a part in Indiana’s first Commissioner’s Cup title run.
Even if she’s sidelined for the rest of 2025, Cunningham has shown she can handle hits — whether on a football field or in the WNBA.
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.
