Caitlin Clark’s teammate Sophie Cunningham launched a scathing attack on the Phoenix Mercury following the latest controversy embroiling the Indiana Fever superstar.
Fever superstar – and face of the league – Clark was struck by Alyssa Thomas in Wednesday night’s game against Phoenix Mercury.
She was driving to the hoop when she fell to the ground in the paint while under pressure from a number of Mercury defenders.
Three rival players were battling to strip the ball away from Clark and succeeded in doing so. But, while Clark was down on the floor, Thomas charged in and put her closed fist into the Fever superstar’s neck.
Now, in the latest installment of the fallout, Cunningham, who previously played for the Mercury, stunningly turned on her former team.
‘You know what’s funny? I know people inside their own organization that nobody likes that team this year,’ she claimed on a recent episode of her ‘Show Me Something’ podcast.
Caitlin Clark’s teammate Sophie Cunningham launched a scathing attack on the Mercury
Clark was punched in the throat by the Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas during Wednesday’s game
‘They say they’re the unfriendliest group… so we’re not the only ones who feel that way.’
Cunningham’s brutal take came in response to the Mercury’s since-deleted social media post that appeared to mock Clark.
Mercury social media staff seemingly celebrated Phoenix’s win over Indiana by posting a doodle of a player lying on the court and asking: ‘De-wanna piece of this?!?’
The doodled player wore a No. 24 jersey, suggesting the post was a reference to Phoenix veteran DeWanna Bonner, who happens to be engaged to Thomas.
As reported by USA Today, the doodle was intended to capture the moment Bonner gave a ‘triumphant roar’ after hitting a shot while absorbing a foul Indiana’s Monique Billings in the first half.
And of course, the post gives a subtle nod to Bonner’s name in the caption: ‘De-wanna…’
Some fans initially thought the doodle was a reference to Clark, who wears No. 22, but was nonetheless mistaken as the intended target of the doodle. And as a result, Clark fans erupted online, prompting the Mercury to remove the post altogether to avoid any further confusion, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA Today.
Clark later sustained a back injury during the showdown against the Mercury and missed Saturday night’s clash against Los Angeles Sparks.
Cunningham, who previously played for the Mercury, stunningly turned on her former team
Fans were convinced that the Mercury appeared to mock Clark in a since-deleted post
Speaking on her podcast, Cunningham also explained: ‘I did not see that happen. None of our team saw that happen in real time, but if we did we would have had her back.
‘Unfortunately, this type of s*** happens every single game to her and the league and the refs do absolutely nothing about it.’
‘You see the videos of literally kneeing and cheap-shotting C in the throat – like, if she did that to any of our teammates we would be p***ed. But they are definitely targeting her and the league and the refs do nothing to protect her.
‘They’re definitely targeting her and the league and the refs do nothing to protect her.’
Cunningham’s podcast co-host, West Wilson, went further and accused the WNBA commissioner, Cathy Engelbert, of being jealous of Clark’s fame.
‘I don’t want to get in beef with Cathy but it is like she is jealous of her, or thinks that because she is a bigger face than the WNBA has had, she won’t give her the platform,’ Wilson said. ‘It is so f***ing weird, it is bizarre.’
Thomas couldn’t play for her team on Saturday as she served her one-game suspension in the wake of the shocking incident.
But while Thomas herself wasn’t on the court on Saturday, her presence was still felt at the arena when her fiancee and teammate DeWanna Bonner turned up wearing the No 25 jersey.
DeWanna Bonner turns up to the game in the No 25 jersey of her fiancee and teammate Alyssa Thomas, who was banned for punching Caitlin Clark in the throat
Thomas wears No 25 and the gesture was seen by many as a very public dig at Clark and the Indiana Fever as the fallout continues to escalate.
Bonner and Thomas are one of the WNBA’s biggest power couples and have been engaged since 2023. They were previously teammates on the Connecticut Sun in the 2020 Covid-19 bubble before going public in 2021, and they have since reunited again in Phoenix.
Many WNBA fans have claimed that a one-game ban for Thomas was lenient, and she will return to the court on Thursday night against the Seattle Storm.
Phoenix Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts, meanwhile, has taken the opposite view, instead using his platform to hit out at the league and its suspension process.
‘I’d like to hit on my disappointment in the suspension process by our league and our leaders in the W. This was not a thorough investigation in my opinion,’ he said, adding that nobody from the WNBA had reached out to him for his opinion.
‘The people in this league know who AT is,’ he added. ‘She’s a competitor, she’s a winner, and she’s tough. The one thing she is not is cheap.’
