Alyssa Thomas' flagrant foul on Indiana Fever's Caitlin Clark has become controversial. Following Stephanie White's fiery postgame conference, Sophie Cunningham is risking a fine with her comments. On her podcast, Cunningham made accusations against the league and game officials.

During the second quarter of the Fever-Phoenix Mercury game, Thomas appeared to hit Clark on her throat. Her knee also hit the Fever star near her thigh. Despite the WNBA's harsh action against Thomas, Cunningham has alleged that the league isn't protecting her teammate while opponents target Clark.

“You see the videos of like literally kneeing and and cheap shotting [Caitlin] in the throat," Cunningham said on the Show Me Something podcast on Saturday. "Like if she did that to any of our teammates, we'd be pissed. But like they're definitely targeting her, and the league and the refs do nothing to protect her."

When the foul happened, the referees didn't call a foul on the Mercury star as the game continued. Clark lay on the floor after taking multiple hits. The WNBA later ruled the play from Thomas as Flagrant 2, fined her $1000 and suspended her for a game. But Cunningham added that it was not an isolated incident.

“This type of s*** happens every single game to her, and the league and the refs do absolutely nothing about it," Cunningham added on the Show Me Something podcast.

The pattern Cunningham describes echoes a June incident that sparked league-wide backlash. Last year, a game against the Connecticut Sun became a big controversy.

During a Fever-Sun game, Jacy Sheldon accidentally hit Clark in the face. Seconds later, during an altercation, Marina Mabrey pushed Clark, who hit the deck. Fans were furious when Mabrey wasn't ejected.

Cunningham's accusation amplifies White's postgame blast—a coordinated Fever pushback. After Cunningham, Fever coach White again blasted the referees.

"Officials are watching the ball," Stephanie White said, still enraged about the foul on Caitlin Clark

Even after the league upgraded the no foul on Alyssa Thomas, White wasn't happy. The Fever head coach raised a bigger issue about officiating.

"I think the biggest thing for me is that we have to see it in real time," White told reporters, according to USA Today. "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...I feel like all the officials are watching the ball and nobody's watching the play."

White elaborated on the officiating gap. For the coach, when a player is on the ground in pain, it is the referee's job to pay heed to that.

While the league's push has tried to address the issue, dangerous plays, if not officiated in real time, can result in injuries to star players, who help the WNBA make the most money.

What do you think? Are WNBA officials doing enough to protect star players like Caitlin Clark, or is this just part of the physical transition to the league? Drop your thoughts in the comments!

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Written by

Nandjee Ranjan

Edited by

Shubhi Rathore