Sophie Cunningham’s mom and sister seem to have as many issues with the WNBA officiating as the Fever star does, especially after Cunningham suffered a knee injury in Sunday’s overtime win over the Sun.
Cunningham sustained the injury after Sun guard Bria Hartley tumbled into her under the basket, and the incident left the Fever forward agonizing in pain before she was helped off the court.
“Especially the way that she fell and how she was holding herself and how much pain she was in, at the time it’s like, ‘crap,’” she said. David Butler II-Imagn Images
The injury garnered plenty of reaction, including from Cunningham’s own family, with her sister, Lindsey, and her mom, Paula, taking to social media to call out the WNBA officiating and Hartley.
“@WNBA maybe you should focus less on fining players for commenting on your poor officiating & more about hiring officials that are able to call a consistent game and protect your athletes. Pathetic. Praying for you . @sophaller,” Lindsey wrote on X.
The comment was referring to Cunningham’s recent fines from the league for her own criticisms of the WNBA’s officiating during episodes of her podcast.
WNBA officiating has been a hot-button issue due to the feelings of fans — particularly those of the Fever and star guard Caitlin Clark — about the way games are being called.
Paula, who later deleted her post, directed her displeasure at the player who had injured Cunningham.
“Hartley is a disgruntled player having trouble everywhere she goes; she’s plain mean and plays out of control,” Paula wrote.
It wasn’t immediately clear what Paula was referencing in her post, but Hartley had been ejected from the Sun’s previous game and had been involved in an incident where she pulled Angel Reese’s hair.
Fever coach Stephanie White did not have an immediate update on Cunningham for reporters after the Indiana win, which has also been without Clark due to an injury, and she said her reaction to the injury was, “Holy s–t.”
“Especially the way that she fell and how she was holding herself and how much pain she was in, at the time it’s like, ‘crap,’” White said.
