WNBA star and Caitlin Clark's teammate, Sophie Cunningham, has criticized the WNBA and the players amid the physical play that took place earlier on Clark. Cunningham says Clark has been facing this for a long time now, with people targeting her.

Cunningham went on to say about the incident that took place on June 24 between veteran Alyssa Thomas and Clark in the Indiana and Phoenix Mercury game that the Mercury won 111-109. She discussed this in her Show Me Something podcast on June 26.

"During real time last night I did not see that happen and I don't think none of our team saw it happen because I promise you if that if we would have seen that happen, we would have had her back."

The incident Cunningham talked about took place in the second quarter with 6:52 left, when Clark fell down the paint with the ball. Thomas pounced on her to take it. She then pushed her fist through Clark's throat area and stepped over her while trying to get up.

"You see the videos of, like, literally kneeing and in the throat," Cunningham continued. "If she did that to any of our teammates, we would be pissed. They are definitely targeting her, and the league and the refs do nothing to protect her," Cunningham added in the podcast.

Thomas received a one-game suspension and a Flagrant Foul 2 penalty after the WNBA reviewed the play again after the game.

Clark’s situation on June 24 was not an isolated incident; she has already endured several hard fouls earlier this season, fueling the perception that opponents are deliberately testing her resilience.

But Cunningham isn't the first one who criticized the league and referees for not giving such nasty fouls and letting the play continue.

People Reacting To The Foul On Caitlin Clark

Indiana head coach Stephanie White was the first one to call out the play, immediately in the post-game interview. White termed the play "egregious" and deemed it to be "absolutely unacceptable," according to ESPN.

After the league punished Thomas, White had a few words to say.

"I think the biggest thing for me is that we have to see it in real time," White told reporters on June 26. "I mean, yes, I'm thankful that the league went back and used their ability to go back and review it, but these are things that we can't miss in real time. We've got to be better."

Even legend Lisa Leslie talked about the officiating, while also saying how the players should be careful as well while playing. She discussed it on the CBS Sports' We Need To Talk show on June 27.

"I think overall, the league's got to be better," Leslie said. "The officials have got to do better. But also, players have to clean it up. We used to play in a way that you protected one another. Yeah, I want to play physical, I want to play hard, but I'm not out here trynna hurt you."

Leslie's call for player accountability reflects a broader debate over how the league should balance physicality with safety.

Ever since this incident, it has been the talking point regarding the WNBA's officiating. The future will tell whether there will be any changes to how officiating is handled.

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Written by

Dhruv Singh

Edited by

Koushik Biswas