They're targeting her and the league and the refs do nothing
In the arena where sport and spectacle converge, Indiana Fever forward Sophie Cunningham has given voice to a quiet unease that many had observed but few had named aloud: that Caitlin Clark, the most galvanizing talent to enter the WNBA in a generation, is being physically targeted by opponents while the league's referees look away and its own marketing apparatus looks past her. Cunningham's podcast remarks — prompted by an uncalled throat punch during a Fever-Mercury game — raise questions not merely about player safety, but about whether institutions are willing to protect and amplify what they have been given.
- A throat punch thrown by Alyssa Thomas went uncalled by referees, leaving Clark unprotected in a moment that crystallized what Cunningham describes as a deliberate, game-by-game pattern of targeting.
- Cunningham's own viral moment — repeatedly pointing at officials during the same game — earned her a technical foul she called the weakest call she had ever seen, deepening her frustration with inconsistent officiating.
- The tension spilled beyond the court when Cunningham discovered the WNBA had released a commemorative graphic that included her but omitted Clark entirely, prompting her to call it 'a joke' on behalf of a player she considers the best to ever come through the league.
- Cunningham's critique landed as a structural indictment: the league is failing to market its most compelling stars — Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, Aaliyah Boston — to audiences who would actually watch, squandering a rare moment of mainstream momentum.
- The story is now tracking toward broader questions of accountability — whether the WNBA will respond to both the safety concerns and the marketing blind spots that one of its own players has publicly exposed.
Sophie Cunningham arrived at her podcast microphone on Saturday with something she needed to say. Three days earlier, during a Fever-Mercury game, Phoenix's Alyssa Thomas had thrown a punch that connected with Caitlin Clark's throat — and the referees had done nothing. No whistle. No foul. No consequence.
Cunningham named what she saw as a pattern rather than an incident. Players were targeting Clark deliberately, she said, and the league and its officials were enabling it through inaction. She and her Fever teammates hadn't seen the punch happen in real time — "I promise you if we would have seen that happen, we would have had her back" — but the accumulation of moments was impossible to ignore. "Unfortunately, this type of stuff happens every single game to her," she said.
The conversation turned to Cunningham's own viral moment from that same game, when her repeated pointing at officials and at DeWanna Bonner became one of the week's most circulated memes. She received a technical foul for it and called the call "the weakest thing I've ever seen in my life." She hadn't said a word, she explained. She was simply pointing.
But Cunningham's sharpest frustration was reserved for the league's marketing operation. The WNBA had released a commemorative graphic that included Cunningham herself while leaving Clark off entirely. "It is a joke," she said flatly. "You are leaving out a generational player, the best player to ever go through WNBA on this roster." Her anger wasn't about her own inclusion — it was about Clark's exclusion.
The broader argument was about missed opportunity. If the league wanted to grow, Cunningham said, it should be putting its most magnetic players in front of audiences — Clark, Kelsey Mitchell, Aaliyah Boston. Instead, it seemed to be promoting almost at random, failing to capitalize on the rare arrival of a talent capable of reshaping the sport's reach. The gap between what the WNBA has and what it chooses to do with it, Cunningham suggested, is a choice — and not a wise one.
Sophie Cunningham sat down at her podcast microphone on Saturday with something sharp on her mind. The Indiana Fever forward had watched her league's newest sensation, Caitlin Clark, take a punch to the throat from Phoenix Mercury's Alyssa Thomas three days earlier—and watched the referees do nothing about it. No whistle. No foul. Nothing.
Cunningham didn't mince words. Players were targeting Clark deliberately, she said, and the WNBA and its officials were complicit through inaction. "You see the videos of literally kneeing and cheapshotting her in the throat," Cunningham said. "They're definitely targeting her and the league and the refs do nothing to protect her." The throat punch incident had already set the sports world on edge. Now one of Clark's own teammates was naming what she saw as a pattern—not an isolated moment, but a campaign.
Cunningham acknowledged that she and her Fever teammates hadn't witnessed Thomas's punch in real time during the game. "None of our team saw it happen because I promise you if we would have seen that happen, we would have had her back," she said. But the pattern was undeniable to her. "Unfortunately, this type of stuff happens every single game to her and the league and the refs do absolutely nothing about it."
The conversation quickly pivoted to Cunningham's own moment of viral fame from that same Fever-Mercury game. She had pointed—repeatedly pointed—at officials and at DeWanna Bonner during an exchange on the court. The gesture became one of the week's biggest memes. Cunningham called the technical foul she received for it "the weakest thing I've ever seen in my life." She hadn't said a word, she explained. She was simply pointing. "She was losing her s--- and all I was doing was literally pointing," Cunningham said of Bonner. "I couldn't help myself."
But Cunningham's frustration extended beyond the court. She turned her attention to the league's marketing apparatus, and her tone sharpened. The WNBA had released a commemorative graphic that left Clark off entirely while including Cunningham herself. "It is a joke," Cunningham said flatly. "You are leaving out a generational player, the best player to ever go through WNBA on this roster." She wasn't angry at being included; she was angry at Clark being excluded.
The broader critique was about opportunity and strategy. If the league wanted to make money, Cunningham argued, it should be putting its most compelling players in front of audiences. "If they were smart they would market this out of some of us," she said. "That should be Caitlin. That should be Kelsey Mitchell. That should be Aaliyah Boston." Instead, the league seemed to be promoting players almost at random, missing the chance to capitalize on genuine star power. "What we do makes no sense," Cunningham said. "Even the people they put on the commercials—if they're really trying to make money, they are going to put people out there that people want to see, that people are going to bring attention to. And they just don't."
Cunningham's complaints surfaced a tension running through the league: the gap between the talent on the court and the machinery supposed to amplify it. Clark had arrived as a generational prospect, the kind of player who could reshape the sport's reach. Yet the league seemed uncertain how to leverage her presence, or unwilling to do so. And meanwhile, on the court itself, opponents were testing the boundaries of what they could get away with—and finding that the answer was quite a lot.
Notable Quotes
You see the videos of literally kneeing and cheapshotting her in the throat. They're definitely targeting her and the league and the refs do nothing to protect her.— Sophie Cunningham
If they were smart they would market this out of some of us. That should be Caitlin. That should be Kelsey Mitchell. That should be Aaliyah Boston.— Sophie Cunningham
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
When Cunningham says players are "targeting" Clark, does she mean it's coordinated, or just that everyone's playing harder against her?
I think she means the latter—that Clark's getting hit in ways other players aren't, and it's becoming a pattern the league isn't addressing. Not a conspiracy, but a culture where the refs aren't protecting her.
The throat punch went uncalled. How does that even happen in a professional league?
It happened fast, maybe off-ball, maybe the ref didn't see it clearly. But Cunningham's point is that it's part of a larger pattern. One punch might be a miss. Repeated cheap shots suggest the league isn't enforcing the rules evenly.
Why would Cunningham care so much about Clark's treatment if they're competitors?
Because they're teammates. And because Cunningham sees what the league is doing—or not doing—as a threat to the whole sport. If the best player can't play safely, that's bad for everyone.
The meme about her pointing—that seemed almost playful. Why bring it up in the same breath as a throat punch?
Because it shows the inconsistency. She gets a technical for pointing. Thomas doesn't get called for punching. The league enforces the small stuff and ignores the dangerous stuff.
And the marketing complaint—is that just Cunningham being salty about not being featured?
No. She's saying the league is leaving money on the table. Clark draws eyeballs. If you're trying to grow the sport, you put your best players front and center. The league isn't doing that.
What does this say about where the WNBA is right now?
It's a league with real talent and real momentum, but leadership that doesn't seem to know how to capitalize on it. Clark is a generational talent, and the league is simultaneously failing to protect her and failing to market her. That's a problem on both fronts.