Sophie Cunningham Breaks Silence on the Pointing Meme That Took Over the WNBA

Sophie Cunningham is finally explaining what actually happened during that wild pointing exchange with DeWanna Bonner. And honestly, the story is better than most people guessed.

The Fever guard got into it with Bonner on June 22 during Indiana’s 86-77 win over Phoenix. Both women pointed at each other for an uncomfortably long time. Cunningham’s face was locked in this intense stare that the internet immediately turned into a meme. But according to Cunningham, it was all about fairness.

“Really Bonner is the one that did something extra then Caitlin got the tech, so I walked out there and literally talking to the ref,” Cunningham said on a recent podcast episode. “I was like now Caitlin got one but why didn’t she get one? Because if Caitlin’s gonna get one then she should have got one. It shouldn’t have been one or the other.”

The whole thing started after Bonner and Caitlin Clark got into it. Tempers flared, Clark picked up a technical foul, and Cunningham felt like Bonner deserved one too. So she walked over to the official to make her case. That’s when Bonner told her not to point. Which, uh, probably wasn’t the smartest thing to say to Cunningham.

“I was just kind of pointing and she’s like ‘don’t you point at me’ and I was like ope shouldn’t have said that,” Cunningham said, making the same gesture again. “And I didn’t say a word.”

Five players ended up with technical fouls that night. Myisha Hines-Allen got ejected shortly after. The whole thing was messy.

And it didn’t stop there. The chippiness carried into the Fever’s next game. Alyssa Thomas threw a cheap shot at Clark that got Thomas a one-game suspension. Cunningham said the Fever players didn’t see it happen on the court during the game. If they had, she said they would’ve gone to Clark’s defense again.

Indiana is trying to keep the focus on winning. They beat Los Angeles 111-87 on June 27 for their 11th win of the season. Next up is a road game against the Aces on Sunday, July 5 at 7 PM ET. The Fever are hoping to keep the momentum going without any more distractions.