Sophie Cunningham: Caitlin Clark critics ‘dumb as f—‘ to deny Fever star is face of WNBA

Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham came to Caitlin Clark’s defense earlier this season in a physical game against the Connecticut Sun, and she defended the second-year superstar off the court, too. In response to the debate over who is the face of the WNBA, Cunningham had a sharp message for those who offer a name other than Clark: “You’re literally dumb as f—.”

Clark has been on the shelf numerous times already this season with a string of injuries, and the ailments seemingly limited her when she was on the floor. Held to just 13 games thus far, Clark is averaging nearly three points fewer per game this season than she did in her rookie campaign and is a significantly less effective shooter.

Disappointing season aside, Cunningham says that the WNBA still revolves around Clark.

“It literally pisses me off when people are like, ‘She’s not the face of the league.’ What?” Cunningham said on her new podcast. “There’s really good, well-known people in our league. I’m not discrediting them. We have a lot of badasses in our league. Hell yeah to that. I’m all for that. But when people try to argue that she’s not the face of our league or our league would be where we’re at without her, you’re dumb as s—. You’re literally dumb as f—.”

One of the WNBA’s worst-kept secrets is the disdain some of the league’s veterans hold toward Clark. The transcendent star from Iowa, who in many ways redefined women’s college basketball and is a key force behind the WNBA’s surge in viewership, has been on the receiving end of hard fouls throughout her young career.

One of those incidents came earlier this year when Sun guard Marina Mabrey shoved Clark and received a technical foul, which the league later upgraded to a Flagrant 2. Jacy Sheldon hit Clark in the face on a steal attempt, and when Clark shoved Sheldon and turned her back, Mabrey entered the scuffle and pushed Clark to the ground.

“You have seen players in our league try to toughen up Caitlin,” said Cunningham. “Even when I wasn’t on her team. I know the talks Phoenix had in their locker room of, like, ‘We’re gonna show her what the W really is.’ I get it to a certain extent. Every rookie coming into the league, that’s how you’re going to treat them. But there’s just more for her. It’s her second year. Now being on her team and seeing it, I’m like, ‘What are people doing?’ It’s just too much. I’m over it.”

The numbers do not lie when it comes to Clark’s impact on the WNBA’s exposure. Earlier this season, the Fever and Sky broke a 25-year viewership record when 2.7 million fans watched Clark square off against college rival Angel Reese.