Sophie Cunningham’s Sister Calls out WNBA Officials Following the Basketball Star’s Injury
In 2019, Sophie Cunningham was selected 13th in the second round of the WNBA draft by the Phoenix Mercury where she played for six seasons.
Published Aug. 18 2025, 1:45 p.m. ET
Injuries in sports are commonplace and something that athletes have come to expect as part of the game; however, that doesn’t mean that their loved ones can’t voice their opinions when they feel that it could have been avoided. The sister of WNBA star Sophie Cunningham called out game officials after the Indiana Fever star injured her knee.
In 2019, Sophie Cunningham was selected 13th in the second round of the WNBA draft by the Phoenix Mercury, where she played for six seasons. Early 2025, she was officially traded from the Mercury to the Indiana Fever.
Sophie Cunningham’s sister calls out WNBA officials following sister’s injury.
On Sunday, Aug.17, Sophie suffered a brutal knee injury during the Fever’s victory over the Connecticut Sun, which caused her sister Lindsay Cunningham, the associate director of development at the University of Missouri, to slam the game’s officials, according to CBS Sports.
"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, Sophie," Lindsay wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, following the game.
In the first half of the game, Sun guard Bria Hartley fell onto Sophie’s right leg, resulting in the Fever star collapsing on the court and grabbing her knee before medical staff arrived. Sophie was then ushered to the locker room and did not return for the remainder of the game, per the outlet.
Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White addressed Sophie's unfortunate injury.
"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,’ Stephanie said, according to CBS Sports. “And then you go down there, you see her and it’s like ‘OK, I just want her to calm down and be able to regroup.’”
“And then it turns to problem solving, right? How do we put ourselves in a position to win? I think that’s maybe how I survive is going straight to problem solving. But this group, they’re special and I’m thankful for them," she added.
Sophie is set to have an MRI on her knee on Monday, Aug. 18, but there have not been any further updates on her condition as of now.
Since being traded to the Indiana Fever, Sophie has had a rocky path.
In July and August of 2025, Sophie was fined for back-to-back violations of publicly criticizing WNBA referees — the first instance occurred on TikTok and the second was during her podcast, according to ESPN.
She was fined $1,500 for each offense. In the TikTok clip, Sophie was seen lip-syncing to Sabrina Carpenter’s song “Manchild” with the lyrics “Stupid. Or is it, slow? Or maybe, useless?" She also added the text "@ some refs" over the video.
On the first episode of her Show Me Something podcast, Sophie took time out to slam the league’s ref’s once again. "If I was a ref, I know I would mess up all the time,” she said, per ESPN. “Like, I'm not saying that your job is easy, but when it is a simple call in front of your face multiple times, what are you doing? What are you doing?"
"I think players across the league, and new fans across the country, are like, 'What is going on with the refs?' And I'm like, 'I don't know,'" she added.