WNBA Player Rips Refs For Allowing Cheap Shots On Caitlin Clark, Says She Had To Act

The WNBA’s Fever guard Sophie Cunningham said over the weekend that she felt she had to step up and protect her teammate, Caitlin Clark, after years of referees allowing cheap shots against Clark, who’s the league’s star player.

On Tuesday, Cunningham was ejected from a game and fined after she grabbed Suns guard Jacy Sheldon by the back of the head. Earlier in the game, Sheldon poked Clark in the eye as she was passing the ball — which clearly did not sit well with Cunningham.

Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

“It was just part of the game,” Cunningham told the press. “I think the refs had a lot to do with that. It was a build-up for a couple years now of them just not protecting the star player of the WNBA.”

“At the end of the day, I’m going to protect my teammates,” she added. “That’s what I do.”

“It’s been a build up for a couple of years now, of them not protecting the star player of the WNBA.” pic.twitter.com/FOavJEu4qY

— Ken Swift (@kenswift) June 21, 2025

During last week’s game against the Suns, a number of technical fouls were handed down by the referees after Clark got her eye poked and chaos ensued. Stephanie White, coach of the Fever, blamed the referees for letting the game get out of hand. Clark, a frequent target of cheap shots in the league and the recipient of one of those technical fouls, nodded along in agreement.

“I think it was pretty obvious that stuff was brewing, right?” White told the press post-game. “When the officials don’t get control of the ballgame, when they allow that stuff to happen, and it’s been happening all season long … you’ve got competitive women who are the best in the world at what they do, and when you allow them to play physical, and you allow these things to happen, they’re going to compete, and they’re going to have their teammates’ backs. It’s exactly what you expect out of fierce competition. I started talking to the officials in the first quarter, and we knew this was going to happen. You could tell it was going to happen. So they got to get control of it. They got to be better.”

Justin Casterline/Getty Images

As for Cunningham, the guard’s popularity has only blown up since she got ejected on Tuesday. On X, posts with the player’s background, highlights of her feisty playing on the court, and her pre-game looks have garnered massive attention.

After having Caitlin Clark’s back, everyone will know who Sophie Cunningham is now. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/Z9LtdyOfZc

— 👉M-Û-R-Č-H👈 (@TheEXECUTlONER_) June 18, 2025

As highlighted by Fox News, Cunningham comes from a farming family, and says her success derives from those experiences. “So much of our success goes back to what we learned here,” Cunningham said. “We loved coming out to the farm to help. We found out how to work hard and work together. It made us farm strong.”

Related: Is the WNBA trying to make Caitlin Clark a villain?