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The star of Indiana Fever Sophie Cunningham launched the WNBA and her referees on Saturday.
While speaking with journalists of his fiery and physical defense of his teammate Caitlin Clark Tuesday against the players of Connecticut Sun, Cunningham called the League to “not protect” Clark during the young career of the WNBA of the phenomenon.
The Indiana Sophie Cunningham (8) fever custody (8) and the Connecticut JACY Sheldon Solar Guard (4) are fighting in the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on June 17, 2025. (Trevor Ruszkowski / Images Imagn)
Cunningham became a viral sensation in last week after having committed a hard fault on the Solier Guard Jacy Sheldon, which pushed Clark in the eyes earlier in the game. A fight between the teams ensued with Cunningham in the center of it for Indiana. Cunningham, Sheldon and the Sun Guardian Lindsay Allen were ejected from the game with about 40 seconds before the victory.
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“During that, it was just part of the game. I think the referees had a lot to do with it. It was an accumulation for a few years now, not protecting the star player of the WNBA,” said Cunningham. “In the end, I will protect my teammates. That’s what I do.”
The lack of protection equal for Clark by the referees was one of the greatest criticism of the WNBA since it entered the League last year.
The recruit year of Clark in 2024 included several controversial incidents in which Clark was brutally by opposing players. Sometimes the referees failed to call a fault and sparkle the indignation of the fans.
This season, in a defeat against the New York Liberty on May 24, Clark contacted Natasha Cloud in New York during the game’s final game. The referees did not call a fault, which prompted Clark to launch their hands in the confusion, and she and Cunningham were barking to the referees when the game ended.
The Indiana Cunningham (8) Indiana fever goalkeeper (8) and the Connecticut Sun Guardian Jacy Sheldon (4) beat in the second half of a WNBA basketball match in Indianapolis on June 17, 2025. (APPO / Michael Conroy)
A replay showed a cloud pushing his shoulder in the moment when the ball has detached. The fever was down by two, and a fault would have sent Clark to the free throw line with a chance to win the match.
Cunningham takes matters into their own hands to punish players who become too physical, in his opinion, with Clark. And Cunningham also seems to keep the referees on their guard.
Who is Sophie Cunningham? Caitlin Clark’s new teammate
The former NBA star, Joakim Noah, who acquired a reputation for “executing” during his career while protecting a young Derrick Rose, told PK Press Club Digital in September that he urged fever to bring a player to protect Clark for 2025.
“If I was the owner of the Indiana fever, I would have a real executor in there to protect it,” Noah told PK Press Club Digital.
“Sometimes I have the impression that she is touched because he is a very talented person. … But, at the end of the day, we are winning games, so if I am the owner [of the Indiana Fever]I receive a real executor in there. “”
Who is Sophie Cunningham?
The Indiana Cunningham Indiana fever custody posed a photo for a photo on May 17, 2025, before a match against Chicago sky in Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on May 17, 2025. (Grace Smith / Imagn Images via Indystar)
Cunningham has become a folk hero for many, and its popularity has skyrocketed in the days that followed the fight.
Before Tuesday’s match, Cunningham had less than 400,000 subscribers on Tiktok.
At the time of publication, she had 1.2 million on Tiktok, and this number only grows.
It has an estimated increase of more than 300,000 subscribers on Instagram from the game, with a total of more than 800,000 at the time of publication.
With Cunningham who wins the nickname “TheForcer” for fever, fans who count on her to protect Caitlin Clark can stay easily knowing that she is a black belt in Korean martial art of Taekwondo.
She won the black belt at the age of 6.
Her father Jim played football at the University of Missouri, and she ended up following her father’s footsteps on the football field.
A Article 2014 By the Columbia Missourian, reported that Cunningham was the first woman to have scored points for the history team, when she kicked two of the four additional points instead of the regular bootter of the team, who had torn ACL.
Cunningham even managed the kick -off tasks.
“I was so nervous,” said Cunningham at the point of sale. “I mean, I have never played football before in all my life. Just when I had the ball (when kicking off), I just heard. I just put the ball and I launched it.”
Cunningham comes from a family of farmers and attributes this education to the person they are today, according to series of functionalities in five parts by the University of Missouri.
“A large part of our success dates back to what we have learned here,” said Cunningham, working on the farm. “We loved going out on the farm to help. We discovered how to work hard and work together. It made us hard.”
