The Indiana Fever are straight up cooking, sitting at 19-11 and comfortably a top playoff contender, not to mention ranking first in the WNBA in scoring at a ridiculous 96.5 points per game. But don’t tell Sophie Cunningham the media is focusing on that, because she’s FUMING about what they’re *actually* covering.
The Off-Court Noise Is Real
Cunningham has been dealing with negative attention for weeks now. It kicked off with comments opposing transgender athletes in women’s sports that ESPN published. Then, out of nowhere and totally without her knowledge, protests and counter-rallies started showing up outside Fever road games. Even after a tough 108-100 loss to the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday, Caitlin Clark had to step up and give diplomatic answers to reporters about all the drama. It’s a wild scene that’s been happening while the Fever just keep piling up wins.
Keep The Main Thing The Main Thing
But Cunningham isn’t having it anymore. In a post-practice interview with WISH-TV on Wednesday, she went off on the media corps, no holds barred. “The WNBA media, all we ever do is cover everything except basketball,” she said, blunt as ever. She added, “You can talk about other things, those are great stories, it shows fans who people outside of the court, but I think we gotta keep the main thing the main thing.” You gotta respect that fire. Cunningham’s not just talking either, she’s backing it up on the court, averaging 9.3 points off the bench and being a rock-solid sixth-woman for the Fever. Jeff Behnke, an executive producer at USA Sports, even brought her on as a contributor this season, specifically citing her passion for the game. This whole off-court circus is happening at a moment when the WNBA is absolutely blowing up with record attendance and insane TV ratings. It just makes the whole media argument even crazier.
The Fever get their next shot to let their game do the talking this Thursday night. They’re hosting the 21-9 Las Vegas Aces at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on August 6. This game has massive playoff seeding implications for both squads, so you know the stakes are high. Will the cameras actually stick to the court, or are they going to keep zooming in on the player wearing No. 8? It’s gonna tell us everything about where WNBA media is really at right now.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Sporting News.
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