Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham has been the subject of heated online discussions due to her behavior during Tuesday’s night Fever-Sun game, in which she defended Caitlin Clark from Sun guard Jacy Sheldon’s antics. But in a surprising turn of events, one X (formerly Twitter) user started a petition on change.org to “remove” her from the WNBA for “misconduct.”
The creator of the petition, known as @thecrownliberty, penned a detailed post explaining why Cunningham should be ousted from the league, arguing that her removal would “help maintain the WNBA as a shining example of professionalism and respect in sports.”
The petition has been signed by 196 people at the time of writing, but, as the user, who is known for being a trolling account, has now “retracted” from the petition and started another to take the first petition down after it “went too far.”
While the petition might be a joke, many WNBA fans are divided about Cunningham’s attitude during the game. She is being labeled as Clark’s enforcer, but many people still feel like she went too far against Sheldon.
Meanwhile, Indiana Fever’s supporters are mostly satisfied with Cunningham for standing out for Clark, who was targeted during the game. “After having Caitlin Clark’s back, everyone will know who Sophie Cunningham is now,” a fan wrote on X. Actually, according to some reports, her jersey is sold out.
Cunningham was fined, but not suspended by the WNBA
There were two big incidents in the game, which the Fever ended up winning 88-71. The first one involved Jacy Sheldon, Caitlin Clark and Marina Mabrey. In the third quarter, Sheldon poked Clark in the eye and then Marina Mabrey came in late to shove Clark to the floor. Mabrey wasn’t ejected, but got a technical foul that was later upgraded to a flagrant 2.
Then, with less than a minute left in the fourth quarter, Sheldon got a steal and raced down the court, with Cunningham keeping her pace and pulling her down before she could go up for the layup. Lindsay Allen went up to Cunningham.
The officials gave Cunningham a flagrant foul penalty 2. Sheldon and Allen received technical fouls. All three were ejected. Cunningham also received an additional fine for her role in the on-court scuffle at the end of the game, confirmed by IndyStar.