Sophie Cunningham, is not going through her happyest days with the WNBA, as the Indiana Fever guard, is fighting back at the league since she was fined $500 for a TikTok video that seemed to joke about the referees.
She also used her social media accounts to talk about the fine. All of this situation has started even more fights between players and the league about how games are run and how free players can speak.
The video that started all
In the video, Cunningham lip-synced her mouth to words from a hit song by Sabrina Carpenter, “Manchild,”. She mouthed, “Stupid. Or is it slow? Maybe, it’s useless,” and tagged it with “@some refs.” Though it was meant to be funny, the WNBA saw it as bad and insulting behavior towards the league and fined her.
Cunningham did not stay quiet after the fine, as she said on X:
“I got fined $500 for this TikTok… idk why this is funny to me… like ok you got it bud! Cause there’s not more important things to be worried about with our league right now.”
A repetitive story week after week
This is not the first time Cunningham, or other WNBA players, have been open about her views on the way WNBA refs run the games. This season, she was sent off and fined $400 after a fight in a game against Connecticut Sun, stating that the referees were not looking out for her teammate, Caitlin Clark, the current big star in the WNBA.
Cunningham is known for her tough style in games and her loud noise outside of them, and has become a big name online too, earnign a massive amount of followers between all of her accounts. Analysts debate if this fame could get her suculent deals in the future, especially as more people are watching the WNBA on a regular basis.
The fine sparks more talk
Cunningham’s fine is just the top of the iceberg regarding on how the league runs games, keeps players safe, and lets them speak up. Some fans and even players say the WNBA is not doing enough to keep stars like Clark and Angel Reese safe in games. Others say that hitting players with fines for funny posts on social media is not good for business or for the players to follow rules.
Still, Cunningham does not seem like saying sorry, and keeps getting support from fans and other players. They see her as a key voice in a league still figuring out how to take public complaints without sparking more arguments.
Sophie Cunningham may have to pay a fine, but she is also making a stand. She keeps talking openly about how games are run or comparing them to other league’s rules. This makes her an important leader and a strong face in selling the league.
No words from Clark yet
So far, WNBA star Caitlin Clark has not said a word about Cunningham’s $500 fine for the TikTok video. While Cunningham keeps calling out the refs and facing league fines, Clark sticks to playing this time.
Yet, Clark has talked about her own troubles with how games are run lately. After a controversial game against the New York Liberty, where no big calls were made in Indiana’s favor, she talked to one of the referees right in the middle of the game. After that, Indiana’s coach, Stephanie White, spoke up about the bad treatment by the refs, saying it keeps hurting their game.
It looks like nobody is really happy about how the WNBA is dealing with things involving player’s wellbeing, as everytime the league makes headlines, rarely is about something beneficial for the players.
As a developing sport, this is part of a process, but there are somethings that should be sorted by now, otherwise, the WNBA will not make that super jump they need to become a serious league like the NBA or the NFL.
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