Sophie Cunningham Gets ‘Pi***d Off’ When Caitlin Clark Isn’t Called The WNBA’s Face

Sophie Cunningham has been the enforcer for Caitlin Clark since signing with the Indiana Fever as a free agent.

Sophie Cunningham Gets ‘Pi***d Off’ When Caitlin Clark Isn’t Called The WNBA’s Face

Caitlin Clark, Sophie Cunningham (FS Image)

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When Caitlin Clark was selected as the No. 1 overall pick, the WNBA knew it would be under the spotlight. They could have guessed how big it was by taking a look at NCAA women’s basketball trends. But they were unprepared for becoming one of the big leagues when she entered the WNBA and didn’t quite plan it well. And now, the league office and players are being chastised for not accepting how big she has been.

When Dawn Staley and her South Carolina Gamecocks took on the Iowa Hawkeyes in front of 18.82 million pairs of eyes – more than any NBA Finals game from 2016 till this year’s Game 7 – the takeaway for it was on the wall. Caitlin Clark entered the league and instantly took the ratings up by several notches. ESPN reported a 170% increase in eyeballs in her rookie season, as did other networks that play WNBA action.

Caitlin Clark played exemplarily in her rookie year, overcoming a tough early schedule to finish the year with the most assists ever dished in a single WNBA season. Her averages of 19.2 points and 8.4 assists per game put her in the pantheon of the greatest rookie seasons in women’s basketball. She helped the Fever return to the WNBA playoffs after a postseason drought of eight years before she was drafted by the team.

All of these are part of the reason why new Indiana Fever heartthrob Sophie Cunningham signed with the team. She realizes that the Fever team – full of young and nonconfrontational players – needed a veteran and an enforcer to protect Clark from physical play and to chew out those who make unsafe plays on her. She also backs Clark to the hilt off the court and has become one of her closest friends off the hardwood.

Speaking on her new podcast platform Show Me Something, Cunningham went hard for her star teammate, questioning the wits of those who downplay her presence and impact:

It literally pi***s me off when people are like ‘She’s not the face of the league’. There’s really good, well-known people in our league – I’m not discouraging them, we have a lot of bada***s in our league, like ‘Hell yeah’ for that. But when people try to argue like she’s not the face of our league, or our league would be where we’re at without her – you’re dumb as s***.

Sophie Cunningham and Caitlin Clark have been great partners-in-crime

Cunningham’s role as Clark’s enforcer is undeniable. Since joining the Fever in a four-team trade in January 2025, Cunningham has taken it upon herself to shield Clark from the WNBA’s rough treatment. Clark has faced intense physicality in the past two years. Just this year, she has been shoved by Angel Reese, eye poked by Jacy Sheldon, and pushed by Marina Mabrey, to name a few. Cunningham doesn’t just stand by; she retaliates.

Sophie Cunningham reiterated players needs
Sophie Cunningham (Image via WNBA/X)

In a June 2025 game against the Connecticut Sun, after Sheldon fouled Clark hard, Cunningham dragged Sheldon to the ground, sparking a brawl that got both ejected. It sent out a statement to players across the WNBA that Sophie Cunningham – a black belt holder in taekwondo – would be willing to bust jaws and bust knuckles for trying to step on her teammate and the undeniable face of the WNBA.

This attitude of sticking up for one another makes their equation that much more admirable to the outsiders.

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