Let’s rewind to June 18, 2025. Things got heated in the Fever–Sun matchup when Sophie Cunningham and Jacy Sheldon went at it in the fourth quarter. In the final minute, Cunningham pulled Sheldon down by the head on a hard foul, sparking a bench-clearing scuffle. Sheldon and Lindsay Allen charged at her, and before long, all three were ejected. It was already a chippy game—Sheldon had poked Caitlin Clark in the eye before—which only added fuel to the fire and made the whole scene blow up even more.

Fast forward to August 17, 2025—the Fever edged out the Sun 99-93 in overtime, but Sophie Cunningham’s night ended painfully. She went down in the second quarter after Bria Hartley crashed into her right knee, forcing her to clutch it before collapsing near the baseline.After the game, Sophie’s sister Lindsey took to X, posting, “@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 @sophaller 🙏🏼❤️.” With Sophie’s recent flagrant two foul and $400 fine still fresh, Lindsey’s fiery defense felt like the perfect sisterly clapback.

One fan, however, decided to go after Sophie’s sister. They dropped a clip of the Cunningham-Sheldon altercation with the caption, “‘Protect athletes’ shut up b—-.” The video blew up fast, crossing 644,000 views and pulling in over 6,000 likes, with plenty of people spinning it as “proof” that Sophie wasn’t exactly keeping things clean on the court. But Sophie wasn’t about to let that slide. She clapped back with her own post: “…some of us were raised by the words of ‘don’t bite off more than you can chew’ and some of us didn’t. ‘fafo’ 😘.”

This wasn’t the first time Sophie clapped back at trolls. At a recent autograph signing, a fan handed her a Sheldon trading card—and Sophie couldn’t resist. She signed it with a cheeky note: “Property of Sophie Cunningham.” That card instantly turned into more than just a collectible—it became a piece of their rivalry sealed in ink. Fans loved it, and with fresh comments firing up again on X, some are all in to support Sophie while others continue to call out her aggressiveness.

Fans react to Sophie Cunningham’s bold reply to trolls

One fan joked, “Sophie have you considered playing Australian Rules Football in the AFLW when you retire? Erin Phillips excelled in the WNBA and the AFLW. What was the call on that one. It was definitely a foul. In footy it would be a good tackle.” Honestly, that’s not even far-fetched. Sophie’s always been a multi-sport athlete. Back in high school, she literally became the first girl at Rock Bridge to score for the varsity football team as a kicker. She even nailed a 45-yard field goal in a halftime challenge, then stepped in when the team’s starter got hurt. So yeah—seeing her suit up for AFLW one day wouldn’t exactly shock anyone.

Another fan teased her with, “You’re tough, but pretty sure I could still take you in thumb wrestling!! 🤣” Cute, but let’s be real—this is Sophie Cunningham we’re talking about. Just this past April, ahead of training camp, she was posting brutal workout clips on IG. She joked that an assault bike had her seeing her “death bed” and kettlebell work left her legs like “noodies.” She’s been grinding, staying in top shape, and you probably don’t want to test her toughness unless you’ve been training like Arnold Schwarzenegger yourself.

Then came the comment that lit up the fanbase: “This was, by far, one of the most dominant moments in ALL of sports history… Sophie wasn’t just taking on Sheldon—she was teaching her, her team, the league, and the entire head office in one brutal masterclass–lay off the targeting of Clark and stop enabling it.” The hype was real, and it makes sense given the context. That scuffle with Jacy Sheldon didn’t just come out of nowhere—it boiled over after Sheldon poked Caitlin Clark in the eye and tempers exploded. What fans saw in Sophie’s response was less about chaos and more about defending her teammate and drawing a line.

Someone else put it simply: “It was about damn time! Someone showed some backbone! Thank you for what you did!” And a lot of people agreed. After all, even Fever coach Stephanie White called out “bad officiating” that night, saying refs across the league just aren’t keeping up as the players get better. Connecticut’s Olivia Nelson-Ododa even admitted the officiating was part of the problem. So when Sophie stepped up and showed some fight, fans didn’t just see aggression—they saw someone demanding fairness in a game that was starting to get out of hand.

Finally, another fan pointed out, “You would have been a good MMA fighter too, don’t you have tae kwon do background?” And they’re spot on. Sophie’s no stranger to combat—she actually earned her black belt in Taekwondo at just six years old. While most kids were learning to ride bikes, she was breaking boards and channeling aggression into discipline. So when she gets physical on the court, it isn’t just “losing control.” It’s muscle memory from years of martial arts training, and it explains why her moves can feel more like takedowns than fouls.