Sophie Cunningham Calls Out WNBA for Accepting 'Targeting' of Caitlin Clark
What happened to Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark against the Phoenix Mercury on Wednesday night has become the talk of the sports world and beyond.
Clark was on the receiving end of what Fever coach Stephanie White dubbed "cheap shots," the most widely seen being Mercury star Alyssa Thomas driving her fist into Clark's throat while Clark was lying on the court. Thomas also appeared to knee Clark in the groin and stepped over her after the ordeal.
Fever star Sophie Cunningham has now weighed in, and in typical fashion, she didn't hold back.
"None of our team saw it happen, because I promise you if we would have seen it happen, we would have had her back," Cunningham said on her Show Me Something podcast, explaining why the other Fever players didn't leap to Clark's defense.
"Unfortunately this type of s*** happens every single game to her and the league and the refs do absolutely nothing about it," Cunningham continued.
Sophie Cunningham talks about the league not protecting Caitlin Clark and why she is on the WNBA 30th Anniversary Poster instead of Caitlin.
— Ken Swift (@kenswift) June 27, 2026
Full Video Here: https://t.co/kJZX4LpmLJ pic.twitter.com/EX6E7zGf04
"You see the videos of like literally kneeing, cheapshotting C[lark] in the throat. Like if she did that to any of our teammates we'd be pissed. They're definitely targeting her and the league and the refs do nothing to protect her," she concluded.
Plays Against Clark Cannot Be Ignored
WNBA officiating has come under fire often. And there is no question the level of physicality allowed across the board has been a point of contention. But it's impossible to ignore that Clark has been on the receiving end of egregious treatment at an alarming rate.
From being hip-checked by Chennedy Carter and knocked to the floor by Diamond DeShields in her rookie season, to being eye-raked by Jacy Sheldon then blindsided by Marina Mabrey last season, to what happened with Thomas just this week—there is enough footage to put together a compilation of Clark getting clobbered since she came into the league.
And that's without even mentioning all the times players have gotten under her landing space on a three-point attempt, which may have been what led to her aggravating her back injury in the loss to Phoenix.
Clark's transcendent popularity then turns these incidents into national news stories, but they aren't created out of thin air. She has indisputably been allowed to be roughed up without proper punishment being doled out by the WNBA—until the one-game suspension given Thomas, who was not initially even called for a foul.
"Targeting" is the word Cunningham chose, and it's hard to argue. Everyone would be better off if there is a targeted response to prevent Clark from receiving further such treatment.
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Robin Lundberg is a media veteran and hoops head who has spent the bulk of his career with iconic brands like Sports Illustrated and ESPN. His insights have also been featured on platforms such as Fox and CNN and he can currently be heard hosting shows for Sirius XM and on his popular YouTube channel. And now he brings his basketball expertise to Women's Fastbreak On SI and Indiana Fever On SI!
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