WNBA Hits Sophie Cunningham With Fine Over Ref Criticism—Again

Indiana Fever standout Sophie Cunningham has always been one of the most outspoken players in the WNBA, but her newfound fame as the enforcer of Caitlin Clark has given her a much bigger spotlight. It led to a massive boost in followers (1.6 million on TikTok, 1.2 million on Instagram) and landed her a podcast, which she launched last week. 

The mix of Cunningham’s unfiltered thoughts and massive following, however, has led to two separate fines from the WNBA over the last few weeks.

Cunningham revealed Tuesday on the second episode of her podcast Show Me Something that she received a $1,500 fine from the WNBA for criticizing referees. The fine was due to comments she made on the premiere episode of her podcast, which launched last Wednesday.

“If I was a ref, I know I would mess up all the time. I’m not saying that your job is easy—but when it is a simple call right in front of your face multiple times, what are you doing?” Cunningham said. She also said some WNBA referees are “inconsistent” with their calls.

The Fever guard revealed on July 23 that she received a $500 fine for a TikTok she posted a week earlier that also took a shot at WNBA referees. In the post, Cunningham was lip-syncing to a portion of the song “Manchild” by Sabrina Carpenter with the lyrics “Stupid or is it slow? Maybe it’s useless?” with text on the screen that read “@ some refs.”

In the first podcast episode, Cunningham said the WNBA fines “are a joke” and even predicted she was going to get fined again.

“You fining me $500 is not going to do shit. … And then I’ll get fined for that, and then I’ll get fined for this, and the fines will continue,” the six-year pro said. 

WNBA’s Referee Problem

While Cunningham has been one of the most consistent public critics of WNBA referees, she’s far from the only detractor. Some examples include Chicago Sky star Angel Reese, who said last month that league officiating has to be fixed.

Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve criticized referees after the 2024 WNBA Finals, saying the championship was “stolen” from her team.

At the WNBA All-Star Game in June, commissioner Cathy Engelbert addressed a question on the league’s referees at a press conference, saying they “hear the concerns.”