Everybody may have loved the viral Sophie Cunningham pointing meme, but the WNBA Players Association does not. For Cunningham, however, that has done nothing to dim the personality behind the gesture. If anything, she has leaned further into it. And she’s using that same spirit to inspire the next generation of young athletes to embrace their confidence and individuality without hesitation.
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“One of my biggest messages to little boys but really little girls is that it’s okay to be feisty. It’s okay to be sassy. It’s okay to go out there, work hard and sweat, but also be girly if you want,” Cunningham said in a clip shared by WRTV Indianapolis reporter Angela Moryan.
“Like, I think you can be all of it. All these kids are so sweet, and I’m just out here giving them confidence and encouraging them. So I don’t really know what type of crowd I bring when it comes to the fourth graders. But hopefully it’s like painting the nails.”
Sophie Cunningham delivered that message during her youth basketball camp, the Simple Truth Sophie Cunningham Basketball ProCamp, held in Carmel, Indiana on Sunday, July 19. Open to young athletes in grades 3 through 8, ranging from ages 6 to 15, the camp drew over 300 boys and girls, with families traveling from across Indiana and out of state.
And beyond the message, Cunningham was fully present with the kids. She played one-on-one with some of the campers and took photos with a lot of them throughout the day. As expected, many campers recreated the now-iconic pointing gesture. The meme has taken on a life of its own. And at a youth basketball camp in Indiana, it was very much alive and well.
Meanwhile, the Players Association has ruled that no official business partner or licensee can use or monetize any image of the gesture, and designated it as “derogatory.” That’s because the gesture originated during an on-court confrontation between Cunningham and DeWanna Bonner.
The Players Association told The Athletic that monetizing player conduct that stemmed from such an interaction between two of its members is not something it is willing to sanction or facilitate.
Regardless of the WNBPA’s policy, Cunningham still retains her independent Name, Image, and Likeness. She is entirely free to sign personal brand deals and sell merchandise featuring the gesture. However, now she has to do that without including official WNBA or team logos.