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Sun Coach Rips Fever Star Sophie Cunningham for 'Stupid' Jacy Sheldon Foul, Melee

Connecticut Sun coach Rachid Meziane called Fever guard Sophie Cunningham out for her foul on Jacy Sheldon that led to a scuffle and several ejections.
Grant Young|
Jun 17, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) in the second half against the Connecticut Sun at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Jun 17, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) in the second half against the Connecticut Sun at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

With less than a minute of game time remaining in the Indiana Fever's June 17 game against the Connecticut Sun, what had been a intense and physical contest came to a boiling point when Sun guard Jacy Sheldon (who has been at the center of several scuffles throughout the game) was driving to the basket on Fever standout Sophie Cunningham.

As Sheldon was gathering to shoot a layup, Cunningham used her arms to wrap her up around her neck area and drag her down to the ground.

This caused Sheldon (and her teammate Lindsay Allen) to grab Cunningham, which prompted a shoving match that came exceedingly close to becoming an all-out brawl.

As a result of this exchange, Cunningham, Sheldon, and Allen were all ejected from the game.

Connecticut Sun head coach Rachid Meziane spoke with the media after the game, and made his opinion on this play from Cunningham extremely clear.

"I did not understand [Cunningham's foul]. When you are winning a game by 17 points and you doing this, to me, stupid foul, this is just disrespectful and I don't know how Jacy and Lindsay [got] ejected from the game when they did nothing," Meziane said, per an X post from Brian Haenchen of IndyStar.

"For me, it's just disrespectful to do that foul when you are winning the game by 17 points. Completely stupid," he added.

It sounds like just about everybody involved believes the referees failed to handle this game in an appropriate manner. And as a result, several players will surely soon be receiving some hefty fines.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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