BREAKING: WNBA Drops New Punishment On Injured Sophie Cunningham And Fans Are Pissed
The WNBA announced on Wednesday afternoon, August 20 a new punishment for injured Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham.
Cunningham, 29, has been ruled out for the rest of the season, the Fever announced on Tuesday. Cunningham suffered a knee injury in the first half of Sunday’s overtime win over the Connecticut Sun. She banged knees with Sun guard Bria Hartley and immediately went to the ground in pain. Cunningham, a former University of Missouri star who was traded from Phoenix to Indiana this offseason, missed the remainder of the game.
On Tuesday, August 20, the Fever announced that Cunningham would miss the rest of the year. Now, the WNBA is adding salt into Cunningham’s wounds, as she has been hit with a new fine.
Cunningham announced on her podcast, “Show Me Something” which she co-hosts with “Summer House” star West Wilson, that she has been once again fined by the WNBA for something that she said.
The veteran WNBA guard has been fined three times this year, with fines estimated at about $500. Cunningham, a seven-year veteran, is making $100,000 this year.
The WNBA fined her for her comments on Paige Bueckers
The WNBA chose to fine Cunningham for the comments she made about Paige Bueckers. Cunningham had accused the WNBA referees of favoring Bueckers, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 WNBA Draft.
“I’m officially 3-for-3 on being fined by the WNBA,” Cunningham said on this week’s episode of her podcast. “They didn’t like my comments on Paige Bueckers.”
Wilson couldn’t believe it. Meanwhile, Cunningham thinks that she didn’t really do anything wrong.
“I didn’t even say anything bad,” Cunningham added.
Cunningham did call out the WNBA’s refs, though
Cunningham called out the league’s refs, suggesting that they “favored” Bueckers during their matchup.
“I love Paige to death, don’t get me wrong,” Cunningham said on a previous edition of her podcast. “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. You literally couldn’t touch her, couldn’t touch her. That sh*t is so annoying to me. And if you’re going to do that, then give it to our guards. I just hate the inconsistency.”
Cunningham’s history of fines
This is now the third time that Cunningham has been fined by the WNBA. She was previously fined $500 for a TikTok video making fun of the league’s referees. Later on, she was fined $1,500 for criticizing the WNBA referees in a later podcast episode.
Cunningham now has racked up more than $2,000 worth of fines during the 2025 season.
Cunningham remains optimistic about her future following the injury, though, and she was able to laugh off of her latest fine by the league.
“I was just in the wrong spot at the wrong time (and) she fell. There’s no way that she would go in there and potentially try to hurt me. I have nothing but love for Bria … and so I hope people stop giving Bria some heat because I don’t think she meant to do that at all,” she said about her injury.
The Fever, meanwhile, are 19-16 on the season, set to face the Minnesota Lynx on Friday, August 22.
