Fever Fans Miss Sophie Cunningham After Lexie Hull Eats Elbow in Lynx Loss
It didn't take long for Indiana Fever fans to fall in love with Sophie Cunningham.
While Cunningham endeared herself to Caitlin Clark's fanbase because of the glowing praise she had offered Clark when Cunningham was still on the Phoenix Mercury last offseason, the whole Fever community was Team Cunningham once it became clear how much her infectious energy and grit would rub off on Indiana's roster.
But the real turning point came when the Fever faced the Connecticut Sun on June 17. This is the game where Clark was shoved to the ground by Marina Mabrey (which was prompted by a scuffle between Clark and Jacy Sheldon), which Cunningham responded to by throwing Sheldon to the ground one quarter later.
This cemented Cunningham's status as the Fever's enforcer. Or, in other words, the player who is going to do whatever it takes (or whatever it might cost) to stand up for and protect her teammates.
Given how much physical treatment Clark was subject to during her rookie season, and that she didn't have a clear enforcer on that team, Cunningham's presence on the court during Clark's second WNBA campaign was even more important.
Fever Fans Lament No Sophie Cunningham Amid Lexie Hull Elbow
Cunningham is no longer on the court for Indiana, as she suffered a season-ending MCL tear during an August 17 game. Therefore, the Fever are without their enforcer once again, which became apparent when Lexie Hull was elbowed in the game by Lynx All-Star Kayla McBride during an August 24 game.
While McBride's elbow was in the middle of a play, many believe it was unnecessary aggression on Hull, who was defenseless. McBride did end up getting a technical foul, but many fans believe she should have been ejected.
Kayla McBride vicious elbow to Lexie Hull's face pic.twitter.com/HFnTcJq52J
— Heavens! (@HeavensFX) August 25, 2025
Many fans also think one of Hull's Fever teammates should have stood up for her in the wake of this elbow rather than just watch with their mouths agape. This has prompted some fans to bring Cunningham up on social media.
"Sophie would have been all over that!" an X user responded to another fan's post of Hull getting elbowed, which they had captioned, "aliyah boston & natasha howard are both soft for not defending lexie hull here."
Sophie would have been all over that!
— TexasCowChic Adaptavore carnivoremyway (@LBDavis2) August 25, 2025
"See in that moment sophie would of been right there sorting that mess out , no other player stands up for Lexie like her Boston just standing there watching smh," another fan added.
See in that moment sophie would of been right there sorting that mess out , no other player stands up for Lexie like her Boston just standing there watching smh , let’s see if it gets upgraded now could easily of broke Lexies jaw #WNBATwitter #WNBA #wnbaisajoke #WNBAPlays https://t.co/sS5CCAcfNO
— FeverNation (@fev88262) August 25, 2025
A third fan added, "The team in general is soft with the exception of Cunningham."
The team in general is soft with the exception of Cunningham.
— Sollozzo (@Sollozzo77) August 25, 2025
Unfortunately, Fever fans will have to get used to not having Cunningham as an enforcer for the rest of this season.
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Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the Indiana Fever 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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