From comments like “Elite bench mob” and “Refs couldn’t stop us”, Caitlin Clark showed that she wasn’t willing to hold back in her criticism of the officials in the aftermath of round 1. Each contest featured no fewer than 36 fouls, with Game 1 alone piling up 43 whistles. No matter what, the league did not take Clark’s comments well, and she received a $200 fine. Fortunately, the Fever star’s teammate was willing to back her with a sarcastic quip.

Sophie Cunningham recently took to her official X account to share a tweet with her 272,000 followers. She retweeted Cailtin Clark’s X tweet, in which CC highlighted her previous comments about the “Elite bench mob”, and “Refs couldn’t stop us”, and wrote that “Got fined $200 for this lol😂😂😂😂😂BENCH MOB WILL BE EVEN MORE ROWDY TOMORROW LETS GOO!!!!!!!!!!!!! @IndianaFever”.

Adding her own words, Cunningham said, “That’s gonna really break the bank for her. starting a GoFundMe now!”. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Cailtin Clark’s current net worth is listed as $10 million. While she was paid $78,066 in the second year of her WNBA contract, she earns millions in endorsement deals with around a dozen companies.

Clark earned $3.1 million in NIL (name, image, and likeness) deals in college. In 2024, she signed an 8-year, $28 million deal with Nike that pays her $3.5 million per year. Her multiyear endorsement deal with renowned sporting goods maker Wilson also includes a signature basketball collection, making her the only other athlete to have one after Michael Jordan.

Therefore, Clark is well-positioned to pay off the fine.

Caitlin Clark herself is only supporting her team from the sidelines. She had been ruled out for the season and the playoffs due to a groin injury. Sophie Cunningham was also ruled out after she got injured during an August 17 game against the Connecticut Sun. And yet, the duo keep supporting their teammates.

During the 1st quarter of Game 2, Clark and Cunningham made a demonstrative gesture to officials as they protested that a Dream player should be called for traveling. Clark was seen imitating the gesture again, playfully, during a later part of the game when officials called a travel on Atlanta. This protest extended even after the game, as Clark took to the comments section of an Instagram post to highlight her frustration. Unfortunately, the same got her in trouble.

From the looks of it, Sophie Cunningham might get herself in trouble, too. After all, Clark’s fine did not stop her from further laying out criticism against the league.

Sophie Cunningham Claims WNBA Is “So Mad” At Fever Over Win Against Atlanta Dream

As Basketball reporter Abdullah Imran highlighted, the Indiana Fever “stunned everyone” with their win. In fact, before the game, Atlanta had a spread of -7.5 points as the favorites. It carried a 52-60% probability of covering the same. Despite that, the Fever pulled off an 87-85 upset victory. Sophie Cunningham discussed the win during a recent appearance on the ‘Show Me Something’ podcast. At the same time, however, she didn’t hold back in taking a shot against the league.

“The league is so mad that we won, because we are literally not supposed to be here at all,” said Cunningham. “And that just fuels our fire even more.”

Sophie Cunningham’s words reportedly captured the defiance and hope that the Fever have carried through ever since the team’s troubles started. As ‘Athlon Sports’ Angelo Guinhawa highlighted, “only the Fever and their fans believed they could get past the No. 3 Dream in the first round”. This belief stemmed from the fact that the team had been missing several key players and had to use the hardship waiver just to fill their roster. WNBA experts reportedly predicted the Dream would even secure a two-game sweep. Cunningham admitted that, despite the nerves, she never doubted the outcome, stating that “I just knew deep down in my gut that we were gonna win, like somehow we were gonna win.” Win, they did.

The Indiana Fever will next face the Las Vegas Aces. Aka the team against whom they have lost 8 of their last 10 matchups. Given this record, and the absence of both Clark and Cunningham from the roster, it remains to be seen how the Indiana Fever will fare.