Sophie Cunningham went to bat again for Indiana Fever teammate, and WNBA superstar, Caitlin Clark Wednesday, this time on the debut episode of her new podcast, "Show Me Something."
"It literally pisses me off when people are like, 'She's not the face of the league.' What?" Cunningham said alongside host West Wilson, a cast member of the Bravo reality TV show "Summer House."
Cunningham continued: "There's really good, well-known people in our league. I'm not discrediting them. We have a lot of badasses in our league. Hell yeah to that. I'm all for that. But when people try to argue that she's not the face of our league or our league would be where we're at without her, you're dumb as s***. You're literally dumb as f***."
Cunningham notably came to Clark's support during a June 17 win over the Connecticut Sun. That night, Clark was poked in the eye by Jacy Sheldon and ultimately knocked to the ground by another Sun guard, Marina Mabrey, midway through the third quarter.
Mabrey wasn't ejected to the dismay of Fever fans, players and coaches.
That frustrated group included Cunningham, who sent a message with her flagrant 2 foul on Sheldon and subsequent viral melee in the final minute of the fourth quarter.
"You have seen players in our league try to toughen up Caitlin," Cunningham, a seventh-year guard, said Wednesday on her podcast. "Even when I wasn't on her team. I know the talks that Phoenix had in their locker room of, like, 'We're gonna show her what the W really is.' I get it to a certain extent. Every rookie coming into the league, that's how you're going to treat them.
"But there's just more for her. It's her second year. Now being on her team and seeing it, I'm like, 'What are people doing?' It's just too much. I'm over it."
Cunningham added: "And if I'm saying it's too much, then it's probably too much."
While becoming NCAA Division I's all-time leading scorer, Clark took center stage in the women's basketball world and then expanded it. She became the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 WNBA Draft and won the league's Rookie of the Year Award. She's now a two-time All-Star.
Ever since she reached the W, though, tension has surfaced throughout the league, with some veterans potentially hinting at their jealousy of Clark.
"This is what we've always wanted as a league," Cunningham said. "So who cares who gets the credit? And if you're smart, you're making money off of them. Like, you're literally making money from the viewership."
Right now, however, Clark is sidelined. She just missed her 14th regular-season game, and 15th game overall, this year. The standout Fever guard is battling her fourth muscle injury of the season, this one a right groin issue that she sustained on July 15.
"Honestly, no," Cunningham said, when asked on her podcast if she knows when Clark is returning to the lineup. "It's such a weird injury because she's not in pain all the time. But then when you do hurt it, it's like you're out for another [stretch] — so I think they're trying to be extra cautious so she doesn't have those little setbacks."
Cunningham noted: "Of course, we want her to play, though, like I want her to play, but if we can be successful without her, give her a little bit more break, I think that's gonna be good."
The Fever, currently 15-12, are 7-7 in regular-season games without Clark on the floor this season. They also won the WNBA Commissioner's Cup final in her absence.
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