Cunningham rips WNBA after Clark back injury fallout

Sophie Cunningham says referees failed Caitlin Clark when foul reviews didn’t happen in real time, and she also criticized the WNBA’s marketing after a 30th anniversary poster omitted Clark. The Indiana Fever star missed Saturday’s game vs. the LA Sparks as he

Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark walked off the court early in Wednesday’s game against the Phoenix Mercury with a back issue. and by Saturday the impact had rippled well beyond the scoreboard. Clark is out for Saturday’s game vs. LA Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White provided a Caitlin Clark injury update after the star guard left Wednesday’s game early with a back issue.

The back injury storyline quickly collided with an ugly sequence of physical play and what players and coaches say were missed moments of protection.

In the June 24 loss to Phoenix. Sophie Cunningham pointed to what she called a clear foul involving teammate Caitlin Clark: she said a fist was shoved in Clark’s throat by Alyssa Thomas during the game. Cunningham stressed that no foul was called during the matchup. even though Thomas was later handed a Flagrant-2 penalty and suspended for one game and fined $1. 000.

Cunningham’s frustration sharpened after referees did not review the play while it was happening. On an episode of her “Show Me Something” podcast published Saturday, June 27, the former Iowa star called the lack of real-time review “insane.”

She said that she and her teammates did not see the action happen in real time and argued that if they had, they would have defended Clark.

“I promise you, if we would have seen that happen, we would have had her back,” Cunningham said. “Unfortunately, this type of s–t happens every single game to her and the league and the refs do absolutely nothing about it.”

To Cunningham, the evidence isn’t subtle. She said she has watched footage of Clark being kneeed and cheap-shotted in the throat and argued that the league and officials are not protecting her.

“You see the videos of literally kneeing and cheap-shotting C in the throat, like if she did that to any of our teammates, we would be pissed,” she continued, “but like they are definitely targeting her and the league and the refs do nothing to protect her.”

Clark left the game in the third quarter after appearing to aggravate her back injury. She did so following a 3-point attempt after Phoenix’s Valeriane Ayayi did not provide a clear landing space. Clark landed on Ayayi’s foot and fell, grabbing her back. A personal foul was called on Ayayi. but Cunningham’s complaint focused on what came after review: referees did not upgrade the play to a reckless closeout.

Coach Stephanie White also took aim at the officiating. Speaking to the media. White said the Fever has “a generational talent and a WNBA superstar who had two cheap shots right there that weren’t called.” She added that the referees’ lack of action was “absolutely unacceptable” and “absolutely disrespectful.”.

In the same stretch of criticism, Cunningham broadened her target beyond officiating and into the league itself—specifically the WNBA’s marketing surrounding Clark.

She pointed to the WNBA’s 30th anniversary poster, saying it did not include Clark. Cunningham called the omission a joke and said the choice is fueling online backlash.

“It is a joke. It is a joke,” Cunningham said. “And this is why Cathy and the WNBA is getting lit up on social media because you are leaving out a generational. the best player to ever go through WNBA. on this roster. And, honestly, if they were smart, they would market the s–t out of some of us. They don’t.”.

Cunningham, a player included on the poster, said she doesn’t understand why other players—especially Clark—weren’t featured.

“Why are we putting random players on there?” she asked. “I’m one of them.”

The controversy around Cunningham’s public criticism also ties back to a separate incident that became a viral meme. Cunningham said her viral pointing moment comes from the previous game on Monday, June 22 against the Mercury, when Clark was in a scuffle with DeWanna Bonner.

In that June 22 game, Clark was given a foul, but Bonner wasn’t. Cunningham confronted the referee because she believed the call was unfair. She described what followed—how Bonner reacted when she pointed.

“If Caitlin’s gonna get one, then she should have got one. It shouldn’t have been one or the other. I was just kinda pointing,” she described. “And (Bonner)’s like, ‘Don’t you point at me.’ I was like ‘Oh, shouldn’t have said that.’”

Cunningham said she walked away while continuing to point and stare with a twist of her neck. She and Bonner were each given a technical foul, and the clip became a viral meme used to describe everything from parenthood to the Bible.

Asked about how others viewed her actions, Cunningham agreed that some have called the moment petty. She said it was “the stupidest thing” she’s ever done, but she also said she was carried by the heat of the moment.

“that is the stupidest thing I’ve ever done,” she said. “but it was pissing her off and I couldn’t help myself. I could not. She was losing her s–t and all I was doing was literally pointing.”

For Saturday’s Fever game against the LA Sparks, the stakes were personal and immediate: Clark’s back issue has kept her out, while Cunningham and White both argue that the league didn’t do enough—whether in real time during foul reviews or in public-facing recognition through marketing.

Caitlin Clark Sophie Cunningham Indiana Fever WNBA Phoenix Mercury Alyssa Thomas Flagrant-2 Valeriane Ayayi Stephanie White Cathy Engelbert marketing 30th anniversary poster