The Indiana Fever guard revealed on the second episode of her new podcast, ‘Show Me Something,’ that she was recently fined again by the league office for comments she made about WNBA officiating during the podcast’s debut. It comes on the heels of a TikTok post Cunningham made last month regarding WNBA refs that prompted action from league executives.
Cunningham, 28, has emerged as a more visible and vocal figure in the WNBA after signing with the Fever this past offseason as one of several veteran reinforcements brought in to help Caitlin Clark. She has been vocal about the WNBA’s recent controversy involving sex toys being thrown onto the court during games.
Here’s a breakdown of what Cunningham has said about the WNBA refs and a timeline of her known fines with the WNBA:
Sophie Cunningham fine history, timeline
August 5, 2025: $1,500
Cunningham revealed on her podcast that the WNBA had fined her $1,500 for comments she made about the league’s refs during the premiere episode of the podcast. Cunningham emphasized on the show that ‘I am someone who says what everyone else is thinking or talking about … but if you ask our league, they feel the same exact way.’
“If I was a ref, I know I would mess up all the time,’ Cunningham said, according to the Indianapolis Star. ‘Like, I’m not saying that your job is easy, but when it is a simple call right in front of your face multiple times, what are you doing? What are you doing? … They’re just so inconsistent, like that’s one thing. If you’re on the other team, and you’re going to be fouling the **** out of me, cool. But let me do it to you… I think players across the league, and new fans across the country are like, what is going on with the refs? And I’m like, ‘I don’t know.’ And you fining me $500 is not going to do ****.’
Cunningham predicted her remarks would earn her a fine from the WNBA. She was right. The league emailed Indiana Fever General Manager Amber Cox, according to Cunningham.
‘She pulls me aside and says, ‘Sophie, I’ve got to talk to you,’ and this is front of everybody,’ Cunningham said. ‘I’m like, ‘What did I do now?’ And just smiled and she goes, ‘Hey, they’re going to fine you again.’ I was like, I even told them I credited them that their job was hard. I did say that. I said that I would not be good at it. I did say that. Like, look at the whole picture. What are we doing? Ugh. But yeah, so I got fined for that.”
July 23, 2025: $500
Cunningham was previously fined $500 this season due to a July 23 TikTok post lip-synching to Sabrina Carpenter’s song, ‘Manchild,’ that featured references to ‘some refs’ being ‘stupid,’ ‘slow’ or ‘useless.’
June 18, 2025: Undisclosed fine
Cunningham was fined for her involvement in a late-game altercation between the Fever and Connecticut Sun on June 17. Cunningham committed a Flagrant 2 foul on Connecticut’s Jacy Sheldon with less than a minute remaining to ignite the ensuing scuffle. Cunningham was ejected from the game and, fined $400 according to league rules.
The WNBA later confirmed in multiple reports that Cunningham was penalized further for the hard foul, but the exact figure was not disclosed.