Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham took a moment on the August 5 episode of her podcast Show Me Something to drop some truth regarding her reaction to former Fever guard DeWanna Bonner‘s abrupt exit from the team back in July.
“I could have been way meaner,” she admitted. “She did not listen to the whole clip.”
Despite the friction, Cunningham emphasized that she still supports Bonner‘s success, though she wished for a more professional approach from the veteran forward.
“I’m still rooting for her, I want her to be happy,” Cunningham explained. “But I also think it’s okay to be professional about it, send a text to your teammates. ‘Hey guys, sorry this didn’t work out, good luck, etc.’ There’s a way to handle that, I think.”
Her co-host West Wilson then asked if there had been any kind of communication from Bonner to the team before being traded to the Phoenix Mercury, to which Cunningham shook her head.
“No? Not even privately? Yeah, I mean, okay. That’s tough,” Wilson said.
Tensions spill onto the court
The friction between Cunningham and Bonner became more apparent during the Fever‘s August 7 matchup against the Phoenix Mercury.
The Fever suffered a lopsided 35-point defeat against the Mercury. Bonner, coming off the bench, delivered a season-high 23 points, demonstrating her continued impact in the league.
Cunningham herself put up an impressive 18 points, including multiple three-pointers, signaling that Indiana has the talent to compete even amid adversity.
The contest included a brief shoving match between the two, highlighting that the off-court tension carried into their on-court encounters.
On Wednesday’s episode of the podcast, Cunningham reflected on those exchanges.
“There was some, maybe a little bit of beef because of our last podcast, with how I mentioned that some people could have handled situations [better],” she said.
When asked whether the tension stemmed from her comments about Bonner in the previous podcast, Cunningham replied without hesitation: “Hell yeah. 1,000%.”
She added context about the broader team dynamics. “I think that like, our teams don’t really like each other anyway, just because of like, I don’t know, just her leaving, some of those players used to be under our coaching staff, so there’s just a lot there. But I could have been way meaner, right?”
Cunningham explained that Bonner‘s team may have only seen part of her comments, which contributed to the misunderstanding.
“She didn’t listen to the whole clip. She just saw the thing about, like, ‘She could have handled it more professional.’ Which, honestly, everything that has talked to me besides their team, [is like], ‘Yeah, she could have.’ But that team is just drama to me,” Cunningham said.
Despite the tension, Cunningham found a way to channel her energy positively. “I went home, and I started hitting some threes. And you know I was talking all s***. Oh god, it felt so good. I know we lost by 30, but I still got mine off,” she laughed.
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