NEWYou can now listen to Pakinomist articles!
Indiana Fever fan favorite Sophie Cunningham made a direct statement about Caitlin Clark’s treatment in the WNBA by opposing players and referees on Saturday. The sports world is in an uproar after Phoenix Mercury star Alyssa Thomas punched Clark in the throat after a game on Wednesday and the refs didn’t call a foul.
Cunningham also spoke about his recent viral exchange with Mercury star DeWanna Bonner, saying Bonner “lost his s—” because of how crazy Cunningham’s now-famous pointing gesture made Bonner.
Cunningham first insisted that players “target” Clark.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON Pakinomist
“You see the videos of literally kneeing and cheapshotting [Clark] in the throat … they’re definitely targeting her and the league and the refs are doing nothing to protect her,” Cunningham said on his podcast Saturday.
Cunningham also said she and her Fever teammates were unaware of what Thomas had done to Clark in real time.
“In real time last night, I didn’t see it happening,” Cunningham said. “None of our team saw it happen, because I promise you, if we had seen it happen, we would have gotten her back.”
“Unfortunately, this type [expletive] happens every single game to her and the league and the refs do absolutely nothing about it,” Cunningham added.
Cunningham has also become a viral figure in a separate moment from the Fever-Mercury chaos, when she repeatedly pointed during an exchange with officials and Bonner on Wednesday.
The clip quickly became one of the biggest memes of the week in the WNBA, with Cunningham joking on the podcast that her technical foul was “the weakest thing I’ve ever seen in my life” and explaining that she “didn’t say a word” while “all I did was literally point.”
WNBA GRAPHICS LEADER CAITLIN CLARK SHOWS IDENTITY POLITICS STILL COMES FIRST
Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham points at Phoenix Mercury forward guard DeWanna Bonner after an altercation during a game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on June 22, 2026. The Indiana Fever defeated the Phoenix Mercury 86-77. (USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
“I couldn’t help myself. I couldn’t. She was losing her s— and all I did was literally point,” Cunningham said.
Cunningham also ripped the league’s promotion of Clark and criticized the WNBA for leaving Clark out of a commemorative league graphic while including Cunningham herself.
“It’s a joke. It’s a joke,” Cunningham said. “And that’s why Kathy and the WNBA are getting fired up on social media because you’re leaving out a generation [player]the best player ever through the WNBA on this list.”
Cunningham added that the league should do more to market Clark and other Fever players.
“If they were smart, they would market this [expletive] out of some of us. They don’t,” Cunningham said. “It should be Caitlin. It should be Kelsey Mitchell. It should be Aaliyah Boston. Like, why are we putting random players on there? I am one of those…
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pakinomist APP
Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham from Indiana Fever. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
“What we’re doing doesn’t make any sense… Even the people they put on the commercials like they could, if they’re really trying to make money, they want to put people out there that people want to see first and foremost, that people want to pay attention to, and they just don’t. They just don’t. I don’t know what they’re thinking when all that happens.”
