Sophie Cunningham has stated that WNBA players seem to be focused on targeting Caitlin Clark, especially after an incident on Wednesday where Alyssa Thomas struck a Fever teammate in the throat.
“These sorts of things happen to her—and to the league—every game, and, honestly, the referees seem to just ignore it,” Cunningham mentioned during “Show Me Something Sophie Cunningham & West Wilson” on Saturday. “If she were doing that to her own teammates, we’d be outraged, yet the league and the refs aren’t stepping in to ensure her safety because it feels like they are aiming for her.”
Cunningham admitted she missed the live play that unfolded with just under seven minutes remaining in the second quarter.
In that moment, Clark was driving toward the basket when she fell, and as the ball rolled away, Thomas’s fist made contact with Clark’s neck, but no foul was called at the time.
Later, Thomas was assessed a flagrant 2 foul and was given a one-game suspension, which led Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts to criticize the league’s investigation approach.
Tibbetts noted, “In my opinion, this wasn’t a thorough investigation. Nobody involved even got questioned, which is really disappointing. No one from the league reached out to AT, the security team, or me to find out what happened here. There are procedures that need to be followed.”
He emphasized that WNBA officials are aware of Thomas’s reputation and stated that she isn’t known for being “cheap.”
Stephanie White, head coach of the Fever, also condemned the no-call as “egregious” and “absolutely unacceptable” after the game.
Cunningham expressed her disbelief about the incident: “I never thought this would occur. None of our team saw it happen; if we had, we definitely would have defended her. But, unfortunately, this kind of thing happens to her all the time, and the league and the officials just do nothing.”
The Fever’s loss to the Mercury was a close one, finishing 111-109, leaving their record at 10-8 for the season. Clark, though sidelined in the second half due to an injury and missing the subsequent game against the Fever, had managed to score 19 points in just 20 minutes.
Cunningham and Clark have been teammates in Indiana for the past two years after Cunningham started her six-year WNBA career with Phoenix.
