Sophie Cunningham is 1000% right, according to veteran sports pundit Dan Dakich. While most found the “grow up” comment to Aces star A’ja Wilson to be inappropriate, Dakich stood by it. 

It all began when Wilson approached a fan who was pointing at her for a foul during Game 2 of the Round 1 series. Cunningham defended the passionate fan. Dakich pointed out the same. 

"She is 1,000% right," Dakich said. "She's absolutely right. Now you want all this attention, so you're not getting people that go, 'Oh my God, this is so great. Women are playing.' No, no, no, no."

While Wilson found the fan’s action unacceptable, Dakich saw it differently. With record crowds flooding arenas, he argued, intensity is inevitable.

Echoing Cunningham’s comment, Dakich repeated the same mantra: grow up. For the league to grow and to attain equality in women's sports, female athletes will have no option but to get used to the pressure. 

"You're getting sports fans, real sports fans, sports fans from other sports coming in watching," Dakich added on his show. "Like a real serious league, but you can't handle it. And you do need to grow up. It's a perfect way to put it."

Wilson’s actions led to her getting a technical. However, Cunningham felt she deserved a more serious punishment. 

Cunningham invokes LeBron comparison

With the Aces trailing, A’ja Wilson lost all her cool with the fan, sitting just beside the baseline. The Fever guard stood by the fan and criticized Wilson. 

"I don't think [the Fever fan] did absolutely anything wrong," Cunningham said on her "No Hesitation" podcast. "Could've called for a suspension, but she's like the LeBron James of our league so of course they're (WNBA) not going to suspend her."  

Cunningham pointed out that there’s a double standard when it comes to the four-time MVP.

Pointing and getting yelled at is part of the game, according to the Fever guard. She was expecting the Aces star to be penalized further. 

However, time and again, Cunningham has spoken her mind freely and has subsequently faced endless criticism from the WNBA fans.

Written by

Avishek Sarkar