WNBA guard Sophie Cunningham responded to a sports column on her podcast calling on the Indiana Fever to let her play in the offseason, and she responded with two words: “Fuck it.”
The unrestricted free agent, who is averaging less than eight points per game off the bench this season, responded to Candace Buckner’s Sports column on her “Without a Doubt” podcast, arguing she doesn’t deserve the “circus act” she brings to the team.
Buckner wrote that Cunningham turned a frenetic season into a sideshow and the team should move on.
So if the Fever wants to be a basketball team again and follow their rivals’ lead in openly clashing with the forces trying to hijack their league, Cunningham has to go.
Cunningham did not name Buckner or the outlet. She thinks critics are chasing relevance.
“That’s why I really don’t care anymore what other people say about me,” Cunningham said.
If you live by praise, you will die by hate. Most of these guys have never played ball in their lives, they just crave attention or being relevant in some way. I know what I can bring to the table. It’s not always in the stat sheet. So don’t say I’m efficient or anything like that. Suck it.
Her podcast partner, trainer Drew Hanlen, described the column as an “absolute hate article.” He noted that the guard became the WNBA’s fourth-leading bench scorer this season and ranked among the top five 3-point shooters by field goal percentage.
Cunningham has also come under criticism from former Fever teammate Sydney Colson, who claimed on her Unsupervised podcast that the defender should be “ashamed” of her comments about transgender athletes. “When you say harmful things and talk shit about trans people. No one respects you,” Colson said. “Shut the fuck up. No one wants to hear your opinion.”
Cunningham averaged 7.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game for the Fever, but was eliminated by the Las Vegas Aces in the first round of the 2026 playoffs. Her one-year, $665,000 fully guaranteed contract expires at the end of the regular season. During eight years with the Fever and Phoenix Mercury, her salary reached $1.3 million.
The altercation came after Cunningham made comments to ESPN in July, in which the guard said she wanted to protect “young girls in sports who shouldn’t be pitted against biological males.”
The exchange prompted mixed reactions on social media: Some users sided with the guard against the outlet, while others pressed questions about the list that her reply left unanswered.