Sophie Cunningham has come under fire for her scathing attack on the Phoenix Mercury following the latest controversy embroiling her Indiana Fever teammate Caitlin Clark.
Fever superstar – and face of the league – Clark was struck in the neck by Alyssa Thomas after falling to the ground in last week’s game against Phoenix Mercury, sparking yet another heated scandal in the WNBA.
Her teammate Cunningham leapt to the former No. 1 pick’s defense, claiming that ‘nobody likes’ the Mercury during an episode of her Show Me Something podcast.
However, her comments have now triggered backlash from elsewhere around the league, with USA Today’s WNBA reporter Meghan L. Hall taking aim at the Fever’s glamourous player.
Hall, who has covered the WNBA for USA Today since 2023, criticized Cunningham for her unprofessional take as she responded to a clip of the podcast on X.
‘Goodness gracious. I -,’ Hall began. ‘1) This is wildly unprofessional.
Sophie Cunningham has come under fire for her scathing attack on the Phoenix Mercury
She hit out after Caitlin Clark was punched in the throat by Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas
‘2) How is this helping with the *points at everything* current discourse?
‘3) There is not any scenario that exists where a player should be saying this about any organization.’
It marks just the latest installment in the saga plaguing the league following the punch on Clark.
The Fever guard was driving to the hoop when she fell to the ground in the paint while under pressure from a number of Mercury defenders.
Three rival players were battling to strip the ball away from Clark and succeeded in doing so. But, while Clark was down on the floor, Thomas charged in and put her closed fist into the Fever superstar’s neck.
‘You know what’s funny? I know people inside their own organization that nobody likes that team this year,’ Cunningham had claimed on her podcast last week.
‘They say they’re the unfriendliest group… so we’re not the only ones who feel that way.’
Cunningham’s brutal take came in response to the Mercury’s since-deleted social media post that appeared to mock Clark.
USA Today’s WNBA reporter Meghan L. Hall criticized Cunningham for her Mercury attack
Cunningham took aim at the Mercury as she defended Clark following last week’s incident
Mercury social media staff seemingly celebrated Phoenix’s win over Indiana by posting a doodle of a player lying on the court and asking: ‘De-wanna piece of this?!?’
The doodled player wore a No. 24 jersey, suggesting the post was a reference to Phoenix veteran DeWanna Bonner, who happens to be engaged to Thomas.
As reported by USA Today, the doodle was intended to capture the moment Bonner gave a ‘triumphant roar’ after hitting a shot while absorbing a foul Indiana’s Monique Billings in the first half.
And of course, the post gives a subtle nod to Bonner’s name in the caption: ‘De-wanna…’
Some fans initially thought the doodle was a reference to Clark, who wears No. 22, but was nonetheless mistaken as the intended target of the doodle. And as a result, Clark fans erupted online, prompting the Mercury to remove the post altogether to avoid any further confusion, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA Today.
Speaking on her podcast, Cunningham also explained: ‘I did not see that happen. None of our team saw that happen in real time, but if we did we would have had her back.
‘Unfortunately, this type of s*** happens every single game to her and the league and the refs do absolutely nothing about it.’
Fans were convinced that the Mercury appeared to mock Clark in a since-deleted post
‘You see the videos of literally kneeing and cheap-shotting C in the throat – like, if she did that to any of our teammates we would be p***ed. But they are definitely targeting her and the league and the refs do nothing to protect her.
‘They’re definitely targeting her and the league and the refs do nothing to protect her.’
Cunningham’s podcast co-host, West Wilson, went further and accused the WNBA commissioner, Cathy Engelbert, of being jealous of Clark’s fame.
‘I don’t want to get in beef with Cathy but it is like she is jealous of her, or thinks that because she is a bigger face than the WNBA has had, she won’t give her the platform,’ Wilson said. ‘It is so f***ing weird, it is bizarre.’
