Sophie Cunningham has caught flak in the WNBA world after she had a dismal season-opener against the Dallas Wings. She was on a defensive duty for Paige Bueckers, but the Wings guard shot 8-10 from the field and did not miss any shots from mid-range. Fans have berated Cunningham for not performing on the court and for her views off the court. WNBA journalist and former NBA player Jalen Rose’s daughter, Mariah Rose, explained the prejudice in detail.
Cunningham has been in hot water since her first day in the big leagues. The former Missouri SF was notorious in college for her physical plays and hard defense. When she joined the WNBA alongside Diana Taurasi of the Phoenix Mercury, she adopted Taurasi’s public image and was associated with the team’s physical style of play.
Before joining the Fever, Cunningham even sparked dating rumors with the Phoenix Mercury’s CEO, Josh Bartelstein, who was married. It came out during a lawsuit filed by the team’s former director of safety, security, and risk management, on the grounds of racial discrimination. However, the Fever SF clarified and denied the allegation in her official statement. In her video, Mariah Rose explained:
“She was teammates and seemingly friends with Natasha Cloud, who is an outspoken social justice activist. And this was around the time of the 2024 elections, and Sophie was reposting and liking MAGA, transphobic, all of the problematic content.”
The WNBA journalist talked about her dating allegations with the CEO of the Phoenix Suns, Bartelstein, and said:
“Sophie came out and said she was deeply saddened by the allegation and that they were false, and the Suns and Mercury came out and said the allegations were false but no proof was ever found of this ‘alleged affair,’ and she was traded that same offseason to the Indiana Fever.”
Rose also highlighted what happened between Sophie Cunningham and Jacy Sheldon in 2025, after the then-Connecticut Sun guard poked Caitlin Clark in the eye while defending her.
Sophie Cunningham’s antics in the Indiana Fever
Sophie Cunningham committed a hard foul on Jacy Sheldon afterwards in the game, which quickly converted into a physical altercation. The two threw hands at each other while the 6-foot-1 forward/guard grabbed Sheldon, and the whole staff came to separate them.
Cunningham is one of the enforcer-type players, who are often polarizing in their personalities, like Draymond Green or Dillon Brooks in the NBA. Even though that was her natural style of playing, Cunningham got popular after she defended Clark on the court. Caitlin Clark attracts eyeballs everywhere she goes, and that was evident as she gained more than 500k followers on Instagram and recieved the support of Clark’s fans.
What did Sophie Cunningham say about Angel Reese?
A supporter and enforcer of Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham, commented on Angel Reese’s latest ordeal on social media, in which she shared a clip of her current boyfriend, Wendell Carter Jr., dunking over her former partner, Jalen Duren. Amid fans’ criticism, Cunningham, on Show Me Something Sophie Cunningham & West Wilson, said that Reese should move on and focus on her present.
“Something had to have happened for [Reese] to keep, I don’t know, wanting to embarrass him in some way… But then move on! Worry about the current boyfriend.”
All in all, the season opener between the Fever and the Wings came out to be exactly what fans expected. It will be interesting to see how Clark and Cunningham come out further in the season.
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