The Athlete Lifestyle logo

Caitlin Clark fans need to chill attacking Sophie Cunningham after 'annoying' joke

The Indiana Fever teammates are good buddies, but when Cunningham made fun of the WNBA superstar, her fans were mad. Very mad.
Matthew Graham|
Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In this story:

Indiana Fever

While the WNBA deals with X-rated objects being thrown on the court, another ridiculous controversy bubbled up with Caitlin Clark fans.

(And of course Sophie Cunningham had the perfect line for that debacle too.)

I've written about how the hatred of Clark and Angel Reese is killing the popularity of the W for casual fans, and in the same vein, die-hard supporters of the Indiana Fever generational superstar are not helping matters either.

RELATED: LeBron James, Maverick Carter will destroy WNBA with reported rival league

Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham
Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham hug it out. | Emily Faith Morgan-Imagn Images

Cunningham was brought to the Fever to be Clark's enforcer, and she has played the part superbly. Just ask the Connecticut Sun.

Heck, the outspoken 28-year-old new podcaster always defends the Iowa Hawkeyes legend, and has dubbed herself, Clark bestie Lexie Hull, and their face-of-the-league franchise centerpiece, as the "Tres Leches."

So when the Phoenix Suns analyst responded to a meme making fun of Clark's prankster habits, her fans were mad. Very mad.

RELATED: Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham rock nearly identical fits for Fever vs. Storm game

Many of the top comments were like this one, "Let’s not forget, we fans support Caitlin Clark @CaitlinClark22 , and if it wasn’t for her, honestly your recognition would be minimal…. Not a good look @sophaller one bit, just saying!!!"

To be fair, there were also some that realized it was a joke, but they were drowned out by the haters.

The toxicity of sports commentary is bad across the board on social media, but it's especially awful on WNBA Twitter. It's called a joke. These two go back and forth all the time, like last month when the 23 year old make fun of Cunningham's hair, and her Fever buddy clapped back.

RELATED: 6-foot Caitlin Clark towers over gymnast Jordan Chiles after Fever beat Wings

Sophie Cunningham, Caitlin Clark
Sophie Cunningham/Instagram

The Minnesota Lynx's franchise centerpiece Napheesa Collier, the heavy favorite to win the WNBA MVP this year for her first-place squad, admits the toxicity throughout the league has gotten out of hand.

"It is getting so toxic in our league," the former UConn standout sadi. "Just hatred out there towards other players, not just Angel and Caitlin. I feel like we are trending in a bad spot with that."

The players need to chill. The fans need to chill.

It's only sports. It's supposed to be an entertaining distraction, and jokes should be allowed and encouraged.

Not useless hate.

— Enjoy free dish of rich and fabulous players with The Athlete Lifestyle on SI —

New WNBA besties: Paige Bueckers, Angel Reese crush duo locker room dance

Love on the links: Klay Thompson dresses gf Megan Thee Stallion in first-ever golf fit

Who’s that girl?: LeBron James’ wife Savannah looks unrecognizable with new ‘do

Proud bro: Josh Allen is emotional proud brother for sister’s Bills’ inspired baby news

Windy City stopper?: Northwestern shows off snow-proof most expensive CFB stadium

Published
Matthew Graham
MATTHEW GRAHAM

Matthew Graham has over 20 years of media experience and oversees The Athlete Lifestyle On SI. He has had previous leadership roles at NBC Sports, Yahoo, and USA TODAY, where he co-founded For The Win (named Best Mobile Site by Digiday). He has also written for ESPN, Cosmopolitan, US Weekly, People, E! Online, and FHM, covering major sports and entertainment events like the Oscars, the Golden Globes, NBA Finals, Super Bowl, and winning the Yahoo Superstar Award for coverage of the Olympics.

Home/Relationships