Sophie Cunningham had some words for the WNBA and commissioner Cathy Engelbert about teammate Caitlin Clark.
The former Iowa superstar had a fist shoved in her throat by Alyssa Thomas during the Indiana Fever‘s loss to the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday, June 24. There was not a foul called during the game, but Thomas was handed a Flagrant-2 penalty after the fact and was suspended for one game and fined $1,000.
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On an episode of her “Show Me Something” podcast published Saturday, June 27, Cunningham said the fact that referees didn’t review the foul during the game was “insane.” The guard said that she and her teammates did not see the action happen in real time.
“I promise you, if we would have seen that happen, we would have had her back,” she said. “Unfortunately, this type of s–t happens every single game to her and the league and the refs do absolutely nothing about it.”
More: Is Caitlin Clark playing today in Sparks vs Fever?
Cunningham said that to her, the evidence is obvious that Clark is being treated unfairly.
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“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 pissed,” she continued, “but like they are definitely targeting her and the league and the refs do nothing to protect her.”
Clark left that game in the third quarter appearing to aggravate her back injury after Phoenix’s Valeriane Ayayi didn’t provide a clear landing space on a 3-point attempt. Clark landed on Ayayi’s foot and fell to the ground, grabbing her back. A personal foul was called on Ayayi, but referees didn’t upgrade the play to a reckless closeout following a review.
Fever coach Stephanie White has also called out the referees for how they handled the game.
“We have a generational talent and a WNBA superstar who had two cheap shots right there that weren’t called,” she told the media, adding that their lack of action was “absolutely unacceptable” and “absolutely disrespectful.”
Outside of the fouls, Cunningham also criticized the WNBA’s marketing efforts surrounding Clark. She pointed to the league’s 30th anniversary poster, which did not include Clark.
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“It is a joke. It is a joke,” she said. “And this is why Cathy and the WNBA is getting lit up on social media because you are leaving out a generational, the best player to ever go through WNBA, on this roster. And, honestly, if they were smart, they would market the s–t out of some of us. They don’t.”
Cunningham is one of the players on the poster, which she said she doesn’t understand.
“Why are we putting random players on there?” she asked. “I’m one of them.”
Sophie Cunningham calls pointing at DeWanna Bonner ‘stupidest thing I’ve ever done’
Cunningham also explained the play behind her viral pointing meme. It comes from the previous game on Monday, June 22 against the Mercury when Clark was in a scuffle with DeWanna Bonner. The Fever star was given a foul, but Bonner wasn’t. Cunningham confronted the referee because she didn’t think the call was fair.
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“If Caitlin’s gonna get one, then she should have got one. It shouldn’t have been one or the other. I was just kinda pointing,” she described. “And (Bonner)’s like, ‘Don’t you point at me.’ I was like ‘Oh, shouldn’t have said that.'”
Then Cunningham walked away while continuing to point and stare with a twist of her neck. Her and Bonner were each given a technical foul. The clip became a viral meme that has been used to describe everything from parenthood to the Bible.
Cunningham agrees with those who consider her actions petty, saying, “that is the stupidest thing I’ve ever done,” but said she was caught up in the moment.
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“Everyone’s like, ‘That is so dumb.’ I think it’s dumb,” she said, “but it was pissing her off and I couldn’t help myself. I could not. She was losing her s–t and all I was doing was literally pointing.”
– Contributing: Cydney Henderson
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fever’s Sophie Cunningham says refs do ‘nothing to protect’ Caitlin Clark
