Indiana Fever guard/forward Sophie Cunningham addressed the media after assumptions that recent controversies have taken their toll on the locker room.
The Fever have been the center of the WNBA media attention for a few years, but this season has been a lot more eventful. From the Caitlin Clark and Alyssa Thomas incident to Sophie Cunningham’s comments about excluding trans women from women’s sports.
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With DiJonai Carrington‘s foul on Cunningham from the weekend, the latest major development for the franchise, Cunningham sent a message to the media after the Fever’s 106-92 win over the NY Liberty.
Sophie Cunningham makes it clear that the Fever are united
After the Fever’s win over the Liberty, Cunningham spoke to the media and made it clear that the team is sticking together despite the media noise and the distractions that may sidetrack their focus.
“There’s been a lot of outside noise, but our locker room is good. That’s what it means to be an Indiana Fever, on the staff, as a player, that when you come in here, there’s gonna be things that distract you. But our locker room is tight, and we have each other’s back.”
Cunningham also passionately defended head coach Stephanie White after fans believed White didn’t stand up for Cunningham after the Carrington foul, defending Carrington’s intentions.
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“Coach didn’t see the clip. DiJonai is a hell of a player and a great defender. She coached her for I don’t know how many years in Connecticut, so give her her flowers. She didn’t see, it’s okay. Me and Steph are great, Steph is great with all of us.”
White addressed the media and the booing Fever fans with a lengthy statement before the game as well, with the players all clearly motivated to win this for their under-fire head coach.
Sophie Cunningham wants to focus on basketball
Cunningham has already publicly made her desire for the attention to be shifted back onto the action on the court, but that’s been hard, given the various controversies surrounding the star and the franchise.
Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images
Her position on trans athletes has started a major debate, the domino effect of which led to Enes Kanter and Royce White declaring for the WNBA Draft to force the league into creating rules to address a problem that never existed before this season.
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That controversy and then the Carrington foul on Cunningham, which led to Carrington posting about white privilege after getting ejected, have made this situation worse.
Hopefully, with less than 10 games before the postseason starts, the attention can return to the court as the Fever push for a championship.
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