“Oh my god, Sophie’s a dog.” This is how Indiana Fever head coach, Stephanie White had described Sophie Cunningham’s aggressive playmaking style earlier this year. A dominant presence in the court, Sophie is an unstoppable force against the opponents. While her fighter-attitude was highly justified against the Connecticut Sun and dubbed her as a loyal teammate, there is no viable explanation for everything that went down against the athlete on July 15, 2025.

The inconsistencies in the officiating system, especially surrounding physicality have become the league’s identity. While players have no issues with the physicality as it adds flavor to the W, it is the referee decisions that have heightened the problem this season. Right from the beginning of the regular season on May 17 that saw the Caitlin Clark-Angel Reese scuffle to Kelsey Plum’s consistent foul troubles, every team has faced the referee issue at least once this year.

Moreover, leading sports entrepreneur and President of Barstool Sports, Dave Portnoy was quick to highlight the inconsistency during yesterday’s game. As a superfan and supporter of Indiana Fever, Portnoy could not help but point out the injustice against the Indiana Fever. He shared a clip of the recent Fever-Sun game with a caption that read, “Imagine not calling this, not reviewing this and then telling Sophie she flopped. Sick league @WNBA.”

The clip featured Cunningham, who was setting an off‑ball screen for teammate Aliyah Boston. The game was in the middle of the fourth quarter, with Fever leading 66–65 when the incident occurred. The Fever guard was trying to set the screen on Sun’s Olivia Nelson-Ododa. But in the process, Ododa swung her right arm and elbowed the athlete away. This strong gesture pushed Cunningham a few steps back, before falling on the court.

Despite motioning the refs after resuming on her feet, the officials took no action against Ododa. There was no whistle or a pause. The incident drew widespread criticism. Fans dubbed the decision as “dirty play” by the league and slammed officials for failing to manage the physicality.

Meanwhile, another user shared, “They called Sophie for stepping out of bounds on this play. No foul on getting bodied. League is an embarrassment.” While inconsistencies continue to haunt the league, Cunningham couldn’t silently bear the brunt of the ordeal. So she went online and sarcastically remarked, “They said I flopped. el oh el.”

Despite facing an ugly hit, Cunningham shot 4-for-6 from the floor and made 2-for-3 from 3. She averaged 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 1 assist and propelled the team towards an 85-77 win. While Kelsey Mitchell contributed highest- 20 points, Natasha Howard scored 13 rebounds, and Caitlin Clark added 7 dimes to the roster. This win, however, did not come easy for the Fever.

Caitlin Clark lashed out at the officials during the Sun game

Caitlin Clark has a troubling history against the refs that dates back to her college days. While the Iowa alum’s sophomore season is riddled with injuries, these physical setbacks have rarely affected the athlete mentally. So, when she turned up at the TD Garden, Boston, little did she know what awaited her.

It all began in the third quarter when the officials called for a Coach’s Challenge. Already having committed three turnovers and with just five points, the Fever star engaged in a heated confrontation with Michael Price. Clark was taken aback when the call was overturned, and was seen saying “What’s that!?” as the official walked past her without an explanation.

Within moments, Clark seemed to be in rage and yelled across the floor, “That has nothing to do it it. Are you f- kidding me?” Despite being pulled away by the coaching staff, she went back and was caught arguing with the ref. She would also utter, “Grow the f- up.” But that wasn’t all the 23-year-old had going for the night.

Towards the end of the game, the star guard was seen clutching her leg tightly. It was a right groin injury. While Stephanie White is positive having placed her on day-to-day, the hopes remain quite bleak for the weekend ahead.