We know that the Indiana Fever’s history with the Connecticut Sun doesn’t exactly inspire confidence. Three players combine for 9 techs on Rachid Meziane’s squad, and Indiana has been a part of a few, right from their first clash. More recently, though, the fingers have been pointed in one direction: Bria Hartley. There have been one too many instances for fans to stand down. So when someone as fiery as Sophie Cunningham attempted to clear the air, they weren’t buying into it.

One of Hartley’s 5 techs came during a scuffle with Angel Reese mid-June. Then, earlier this month, she got into it with Rebecca Allen and Ariel Atkins, sparking 3 rejections. With that history, when Hartley awkwardly fell over Cunningham’s knee, it did not bode well. Fans called it intentional. The Fever guard’s family had jumped in, too.

Her sister, Lindsey Cunningham, publicly urged the WNBA to “protect your athletes.” She went on to criticize how the league handles dangerous plays. Her mother was even harsher. She called Bria Hartley “plain mean” in a post that she later deleted. She argued that Bria Hartley’s rough style wasn’t new and that the league had looked the other way before. Sophie Cunningham, however, revealed that she’s actually friends with Hartley and doesn’t believe the guard would ever try to hurt her intentionally.

“I know Bria, and I’m actually really good friends with Bria,” Cunningham said. “I think it was just a basketball play. I was in the wrong spot at the wrong time, she fell. There’s no way she would intentionally try to hurt me. I have nothing but love for Bria. Bria and I are super cool. She would never try to hurt me. There are some girls that might, but she would never do that.”

Still, the context makes the whole episode more painful and difficult to accept. Sophie Cunningham became the third Fever player lost to a season-ending injury. She joined Sydney Colson and Aari McDonald, who both went down just a week earlier in the same game while playing the Mercury. For fans, that’s too much bad luck to accept the “basketball play” explanation. Sophie tried to brush off Hartley’s post-collision grin by saying, “It wasn’t a happy smile, it was a grimace. I’m totally fine with Bria. It’s whatever.” But many Fever supporters aren’t buying it. Here’s what they are saying-

Indiana Fever Fans do Not Believe Sophie Cunningham

One fan offered Sophie Cunningham some support during these tough times but couldn’t resist calling out the league in the same breath. “I’m sorry I love Sophie but Bria meant to it. C I understand is doing a PR job,” they wrote. Another fan was even more blunt: “We all know what we saw. The league made Sophie have her mom delete that tweet.”

Now, the WNBA has been marked by physicality this season, but it’s rare to believe that the league would outright force a player and her family to retract their words. That’s why some speculated Cunningham’s softening stance might have been about avoiding more fines. As one fan put it: “Maybe she’s avoiding more fines. Idk.”

That theory isn’t really far-fetched either because up to this point, Cunningham has already been fined multiple times:

• June 17: Flagrant Foul Fine. In a heated Fever–Sun matchup, she was ejected after a late hard foul that sparked a bench-clearing scuffle. The league later classified it as a flagrant-2 foul and fined her accordingly.
• July 18: $500 TikTok Fine. Cunningham posted a TikTok mocking referees as “stupid/slow/useless” and tagged “@ some refs.” The league slapped her with a $500 fine.
• August 5: $1,500 Podcast Fine. On the premiere episode of her podcast “Show Me Something,” she criticized officiating as “just so inconsistent,” which cost her $1,500. She even joked about it on air: “I’m officially three for three on being fined by the WNBA.”
• More recently, Sophie Cunningham stirred headlines by calling out rookie Paige Bueckers on the Aug. 13 episode. She claimed that the refs were “giving [Bueckers] every whistle” during a Fever-Wings game.

Which brings us back to Bria Hartley. Is it really a coincidence that Cunningham, already walking on eggshells after her criticism of UConn’s Bueckers? Or she didn’t feel comfortable calling out another UConn player? Fans thought not. “Don’t e*f with the UConn Mafia,” one fan warned.

Now, UConn has produced some elite WNBA players, and they don’t hide their little union at any given chance. During the All-Star weekend this year, Napheesa Collier was clear about rounding up her Huskies in Breanna Stewart, Paige Bueckers, and Gabby Williams for her team. The bond has shined through, too, when the Wings rookie received a comparatively warm welcome, and fans weren’t exactly gushing over it. Seems like that sentiment is here to stay.

Still, some people believe that there was no pressure and it was Sophie’s own choice. One comment read: “alrighttt then… well if sophie says it then.. (still doesn’t make bria less sus of all her other acts though, reckless for sure.)” But Hartley’s reputation didn’t escape any scrutiny.

Internet sleuths even uncovered that Hartley once liked an Instagram post showing a collage of her hard fouls on multiple players, captioned: “Death taxes and Bria Hartley always being at the scene of crime lmaooo.” A fan caught it and blasted her: “Imo she’s the dirtiest player in the league and should be kicked out. Most recently Sophie Cunningham has been hurt with the knee tear and is out for the season. 🚨🚨🔥🔥🔥.”

Sure, Hartley has had her moments of physicality, but she has also been needed to be told to think of herself while being unselfish. She goes aggressive, but as Tina Charles says, there’s a lot of upside to her. So at the end of the day, what’s true and what’s not remains in the eye of the beholder. Sophie may have moved on, but Fever fans clearly haven’t. Sometimes, in sports, things look different than they really are…and this one might linger in debate far longer than the injury itself.