Sophie Cunningham Calls Out 'Clowns' Over Fever Fine Donation Joke
Indiana Fever superstar Sophie Cunningham is one of the more brash and unapologetic players in the WNBA. This has made her cult hero among many fans, especially during her first season in Indiana. However, her willingness to say whatever is on her mind her put her in some hot water at times.
The most notable instances of this during the 2025 season was when Cunningham has been critical of the league's referees, such as after she faced off against Dallas Wings superstar Paige Bueckers back in August.
"I love Paige to death. Do not get me wrong, I think she's a hell of a player, and would love to play with her one day. But those refs were giving her every freaking whistle last night," Cunningham said during an August 13 edition of her Show Me Something podcast with West Wilson.
"Like, you literally couldn't touch her. Couldn't touch her. And that s*** is so annoying to me. And if you're gonna do that, give it to our guards. I just hate the inconsistency," she added.
Sophie Cunningham's Fine Donation Joke Goes Over WNBA Fan Heads
Cunningham is known to crack jokes whenever she gets the chance. And she took an opportunity to do so on October 2 by starting a GoFundMe campaign that was (jokingly) supposed to be for her to receive donations for the fines she received from the WNBA this year.
On the campaign's fundraiser page, she wrote, "This is more of a joke than anything. For fines only or to charity or for a yacht idk…. A yacht would be nice, but whatever we raise here will be going directly to Ronald McDonald House Charities. I’ll take care of my own fines. Y'all are the best."
I could use your help with my fundraiser on GoFundMe. Please share, support, or donate—every small action counts. https://t.co/VfBLOKUzNK
— Sophie Cunningham (@sophaller) October 2, 2025
Might as well have fun with it huh?
Her X post about this fundraiser went viral, and it seems that she received criticism about asking fans (who didn't understand she was kidding) to pay for her fines.
This prompted her to make a response on X that read, "this is a joke. relax you clowns…. I set a goal for 10 million. there’s just no way you can think I’m actually serious🤣".
this is a joke. relax you clowns…. I set a goal for 10 million. there’s just no way you can think I’m actually serious🤣 https://t.co/lBXkRdawKp
— Sophie Cunningham (@sophaller) October 2, 2025
For what it's worth, Cunningham has already raised nearly $3,000 on the GoFundMe page in just a few hours. Therefore, it seems that Ronald McDonald House Charities is going to get a nice amount from her because this of this joke.
Which is to say that this whole misunderstanding is going to have a happy ending that Cunningham deserves credit for.
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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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