Sophie Cunningham facing backlash after WNBA’s suspension decision

Sophie Cunningham is trending again after a significant development in the WNBA involving her Indiana Fever teammate Caitlin Clark.

The Fever suffered a 111-109 loss to the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday. It was a contentious matchup, to say the least, with a couple of incidents emerging as major talking points among analysts and fans alike.

One of the biggest takeaways from the game was Alyssa Thomas driving her fist into Clark’s throat in the second quarter. The refs did not call a foul during the play.

However, the WNBA reviewed the incident and announced on Thursday that the Mercury star had been assessed with a Flagrant 2 foul for her actions. The league also issued a one-game suspension to Thomas.

Cunningham had no involvement in the Clark-Thomas incident on Wednesday night. However, the 29-year-old has found herself in hot water again. This is after some fans decided to look back at her ejection from last season.

The referees tossed Cunningham from a game against the Connecticut Sun in June last year after an altercation with Jacy Sheldon. The Fever guard delivered a hard foul on her opponent during a fastbreak play. Many believe her actions were in retaliation for Sheldon’s physicality against Clark during the game.

why wasn’t this also a suspension? pic.twitter.com/FCv9tyKOix https://t.co/pOvp4elMtI

— marina mabrey’s number one fan (@reeseswing) June 25, 2026

Fans call out Sophie Cunningham’s incident from last season

Despite the incident occurring more than one year ago, the haters were quick to point out how Cunningham did not face a suspension for her actions in that game. Some believe that the WNBA should have also punished Cunningham in light of Thomas’ recent suspension.

“why wasn’t this also a suspension?” a comment on X read.

“@WNBAComms interesting you’d better make things fair for everyone or the players will sit out. Since this girl Cc has entered the league it’s been a rah rah show with no championships to earn the face of the league,” said another.

“Facts and she’s a black belt. That should have been an automatic 2 game suspension,” agreed a user.

“Yesssss clock it bc the wnba sure let this entire thing ride like it was okay and the new fans called it PASSION LOL,” a reaction read.

“That’s what they call a receipt in the wrestling business,” another said.

“What i saw she should be suspended for the rest of the season or kicked off the team,” demanded a viewer.

To be fair, many fans came to Cunningham’s defense. They pointed out that her ejection was punishment enough, and argued that Thomas’ actions against Clark were far more dangerous.

Either way, this just goes to show how polarizing Cunningham has become among fans. Fever supporters love her, but there’s no denying that she has a fair amount of haters, too.

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