Defending Caitlin Clark Helps Sophie Cunningham’s Jersey Sell Out Overnight

Sophie Cunningham backed up Fever teammate Caitlin Clark by fighting Connecticut Sun's Jacy Sheldon late in their game.

Defending Caitlin Clark Helps Sophie Cunningham’s Jersey Sell Out Overnight

Sophie Cunningham finds herself in the spotlight after backing Caitlin Clark (Image via FirstSportz)

Sophie Cunningham was always considered to be one of the feistiest players in the WNBA. To those who follow the sport, they are aware that the Missouri star can hold her own as well as have her teammates’ backs. In the latest incident, fans saw the Indiana Fever star defend Caitlin Clark.

All night, Connecticut Sun star Jacy Sheldon was going at the Fever point guard. Their rivalry stems from their time in college, and Sheldon was defending Clark with enough physicality and trash talk that it seemed to turn the game into a scuffle-fest.

Sheldon poked Clark’s eye, and that led to the first scuffle. Despite being issued technical fouls, the Sun star did not stop, and the two Big Ten rivals went on at each other for the rest of the game. In all these instances, Cunningham was not on the floor.

The moment she got the chance, she first threw Jacy Sheldon on the floor, and then, when the Sun star retaliated, the veteran guard clutched the back of Sheldon’s head and said some words. To the Indiana Fever fans inside Gainbridge Fieldhouse and those watching from home, this was the moment they realized Clark finally has an enforcer.

The result of that newfound mantle led to some drastic changes to Cunningham’s stature. For starters, Rachel DeMita reported that the Missouri native’s Fever No. 8 jerseys on the Fanatics online store sold out overnight.

As of the time of writing, her jerseys are no longer listed on the site, which means they need to restock them. Moreover, the 28-year-old also gained 100K followers on Instagram overnight. Her name is trending on all platforms just because she defended the most famous name in women’s sports.

Sophie Cunningham’s football career and black belt claims resurface after defending Caitlin Clark

Sophie Cunningham came into the WNBA after a stellar four years with her hometown Missouri Tigers women’s basketball program. Before she reached college, she was the best player on the Rock Ridge High School women’s basketball team.

After her brawl with Jacy Sheldon dominated social media, fans dug up an old video of the now 28-year-old playing football with her high school varsity team. A padded Cunningham took to the field as a place kicker and drilled a field goal.

Another set of pictures started to do the rounds, where fans claimed the Tigers alum was a black belt in Taekwondo at age 6. To prove this, her sister, Lindsey Cunningham, came forward to post the full picture featuring herself and the Fever star.

It seems fans, particularly those who are new to the WNBA, are trying to understand Cunningham’s overall demeanor after further clips revealed Fever staff had to hold her back on the sidelines when Caitlin Clark was shoved to the ground.

Pat McAfee praises Sophie Cunningham after standing up for Caitlin Clark

Pat McAfee was among the legion of Caitlin Clark fans watching that game. While on his show, the former NFL punter talked about how the game turned from being a borefest to an exciting one after the initial brawl. But he was most impressed by Sophie Cunningham manhandling Jacy Sheldon at the end.

Sophie Cunningham praised for fighting Jacy Sheldon
Sophie Cunningham praised for fighting Jacy Sheldon (Image via Open Source/X)

Sophie Cunningham is gonna continue to fight people for messing with Caitlin Clark. Last year, and I think a lot of people noticed, is when Caitlin would get bullied, nobody would do nothing. Teammates weren’t jumping in there. Then they bring in Sophie Cunningham.

Pat McAfee said on his show

The ESPN star went on to add that he did not believe the Connecticut Sun were wrong to try and hold their ground. Since they are the worst team in the league, he believes they were simply trying to defend their pride.

However, he was most happy that Caitlin Clark finally has a teammate who can stand up to anyone bullying her on the court. McAfee believes Cunningham proved to him that she was a ‘dawg’ that nobody should mess with.

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