The Indiana Fever’s final Commissioner’s Cup series clash ended three days ago, but its echoes continue to haunt the teams. In one of the most heated and physical Fever games so far, technical and flagrant fouls were whistled left and right throughout the 40 minutes. But the one that got the most spotlight had Sophie Cunningham and Jacy Sheldon written all over it. From the first quarter itself, Sheldon face-guarding Caitlin Clark became the theme. By the third quarter, the point guards were already in a scuffle, with Fever No. 22 being poked in the eye by the OSU alum. And when the referees didn’t eject Sheldon, Cunningham might’ve made up her mind to take ‘justice’ in her own hands.

Becoming the messiah to Clark that the Fever fans longed to see, with just 46 seconds left in the game and Indiana in a clear lead, Sheldon made a run to the basket. Leading her in front was the former Mercury guard, who bear-hugged Sheldon, sending her face-first into the hardwood. The Sun No. 4 quickly got up and a heated argument ensued where Cunningham pulled at the visiting guard’s hair until the teammates separated the two. When the referees spoke, the two guards along with Sun’s Lindsay Allen were ejected for being “escalators in that altercation,” as the Crew Chief Ashley Gloss put it.

Although many fans, players, and even NBA stars backed Cunningham’s foul on Sheldon, calling it a “message sent to the opponents,” not everyone is singing the same tune– Definitely not Sun’s rookie out of NC State who appeared on Marina Mabrey’s Instagram Live with her thoughts as the two answered some fan questions.

After Saniya Rivers read a comment on Jacy Sheldon, she already had her mind set as she opined, “I don’t care what nobody say though. You go for somebody neck and don’t even go for the ball, this ain’t basketball no more.” And then came another comment where she simply couldn’t let go: “The fight was forced.”

The comment referring to Sun players crowding Cunningham after her foul on Sheldon got Mabrey to say, “Okay, let’s move on.” But Rivers had more than a few words. “No, let’s not!,” she said staunchly. 

She made her point as clear as day, saying, “If somebody, less than a minute to go, you taking a layup thinking s— sweet, and somebody comes for your neck? The ball is extended here. Somebody come for your neck? What are we talking about? Just know y’all are delusional. Just know y’all are sick in the head. Y’all need to be in a psychiatric ward. Just know that. Just know that.” 

Meanwhile, her teammate and vet Marina Mabrey, who had her own moment of controversy in the same game, chuckled and responded to the chat, saying that fans were now saying she should be the one admitted. 

Mabrey’s heated moment came in the third quarter when Sheldon poked Clark in the eye as she tried hustling into the paint. When the reigning league ROTY pushed Sheldon away, Mabrey came to her teammate’s defense and shoved Clark to the hardwood. Initially, officials gave her technical which Gloss later reasoned in her pool report, “The contact made by Mabrey did not rise to the level of an ejection. Additionally (it) did not meet the criteria for a flagrant foul penalty two.” But the next day, Annie Costabile reported, “WNBA confirmed Marina Mabrey’s technical has been upgraded to a flagrant 2 which comes with a fine.”

Her live reaction echoed the sentiment shared—albeit more diplomatically—by Fever head coach Stephanie White. When asked postgame if Cunningham’s foul on Sheldon could be interpreted as “enforcer behavior,” White didn’t entertain the idea: “I view it as a flagrant foul.”

In a way, Rivers’ unfiltered comments merely echoed White’s frustration. But hers came with a sharper edge and a Gen Z fluency for livestream mic drops. “Like, just know that,” Rivers chuckled again at the end, driving the point home with the same bite she brought to the court. Reminding everyone how in that crowd around Cunningham, she was one actually pulling her away, prompting White to even hug Rivers after the game. But Cunningham’s impact from the game resonated with the Fever fans more positively.

Sophie Cunningham’s Flagrant Foul Boosts Her Popularity and Jersey Sales

Yes, Sophie Cunningham may have walked away with a $400 fine and a Flagrant 2 on her name, but she also walked into something more lucrative – popularity. In fact, the fallout was financially negligible in front of the skyrocketing visibility. Here are some stats for you to look at:

• Ahead of the game, Cunningham had around 307,000 followers on TikTok. After backing Clark, those numbers surged toward 800,000.
• Her Instagram follower count also spiked by 50,000.
• Fanatics reported that Cunningham’s Fever jersey had sold out by Thursday afternoon, even redirecting fans to create custom jerseys with her name and No. 8.
• Google Trends reflected searches for “Sophie Cunningham jersey” reached a full 100% interest—the platform’s highest possible measure—for the first time in 2025. Most of that search traffic came from Indiana and Iowa, two states where Clark’s fandom burns brightest.

Cunningham’s controversial moment became a kind of marketing goldmine. And as veteran columnist Jason Whitlock aptly noted, “Popularity was and still is available to any WNBA player who backs Caitlin Clark. Angel Reese would be three times more popular if she chose a friendly rivalry with Clark rather than an adversarial one.”

Compare that to Connecticut’s Marina Mabrey, who was also fined $400 after her third-quarter shove on Clark, now upgraded to a Flagrant 2, according to ESPN’s Alexa Philippou. She, too, will face disciplinary action, but without the same bounce in public favor.