Sophie Cunningham Still Going Viral, 2 Days After Caitlin Clark-Sun Incident
Sophie Cunningham Still Going Viral, 2 Days After Caitlin Clark-Sun Incident originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
In the wake of the 88-71 win by the Fever over the Connecticut Sun on Tuesday, a win that marks their fourth W in five games and puts them over .500 for the first time since Caitlin Clark went out with a quad injury back on May 24, the focus around the WNBA was not so much on the surging Fever or Commissioner’s Cup finals. It was on the referees.
That’s because of a series of incidents in which Sun players–particularly Jacy Sheldon and Marina Mabrey–attempted to rough up Clark culminated in a blatant takedown of Sheldon with 46 seconds to play and the Fever winning comfortably. On the play, Fever wing Sophie Cunningham wrapped up Sheldon and and threw her to the ground.
She was called for a flagrant foul and ejected from the game. Coach Stephanie White, after the incident, bit her tongue, telling reporters who asked whether Cunningham was protecting Clark with the play, said simply, “I thought it was a flagrant foul.”
Sun coach Rachid Meziane felt a lot more strongly.
She told reporters, “I did not understand. When you are winning the game by 17 points and you are doing this, to me, stupid foul — this is just disrespectful and I do not know how Lindsey [Allen] and Jacy get ejected from the game when they did nothing.
“For me, it’s just disrespectful to do that foul when you’re winning the game by 17 points. Completely stupid.”
Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) in the second half against the Connecticut Sun at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Stupid, maybe. But Cunningham’s hatchet-woman move on Sheldon earned her some respect from fans of Clark and the Fever, even as it shone a light on just how weak officiating is in the league.
And, even two days after the incident, Cunningham continues to go viral and rack up attention on social media.
In fact, it was pointed out that the total followers on her TikTok account went up by more than 150%, and that her Instagram tops 621,000 followers now.
Sophie Cunningham who defended Caitlin Clark going into the game had 307k followers on TikTok is closing in on almost 800k followers in a couple of days . Her instagram has also sky rocketed . The Indiana fever and Caitlin Clark fan base supports their team and players 🔥🔥💯🚨 pic.twitter.com/ZhgkkjN1sI
— Michael (@mikeaalen112735) June 19, 2025
Within another three hours of that post, she added another 40,000 TikTok users as followers.
Clark said she would cover Cunningham’s fine for her ejection on Tuesday. She was not suspended by the league, either. And she’s racked a heap more online influence in just two days. The foul on Sheldon was ugly, but it is paying off for Cunningham nonetheless.
