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The two most polarizing players in the WNBA right now are arguably Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham and Chicago Sky standout Angel Reese.
Just about every fan has a strong opinion on each of these players. While both are adored by their respective team’s fan bases and have a large following and supporters on social media, there’s no doubt that both are vilified by many within the women’s basketball community, as well.
And the reasons for this are similar for both Cunningham and Reese: They’re both outspoken, unapologetically themselves, and don’t care what other people think about them or what they say. Not to mention that both play with their emotions on their sleeve and don’t let anybody get the better of them on the basketball court.
Reese and Cunningham both went viral for on-court scuffles in the 2025 season. For Reese, this came when she went after Cunningham’s Fever teammate Caitlin Clark after Clark fouled her hard during the first game of the regular season, resulting in a flagrant foul on Clark and a technical foul on Reese.
And for Cunningham, she incited a brief brawl between the Fever and the Connecticut Sun after she grabbed Sun guard Jacy Sheldon by the neck and threw her to the ground during a June 17 game, which led to both players getting ejected.
Sophie Cunningham Speaks on What WNBA Fans Often Get Wrong
Regardless of what Cunningham has done on the court, she believes that this shouldn’t influence how fans feel about her as a person, which she addressed during an interview with Front Office Sports that was posted on their TikTok page on November 14.
“I’m not just speaking for myself, I think I’m speaking on behalf probably the whole league; that when people see us competing, and trying to fight to do anything it takes to win, because this is hard, hard league, they automatically think that’s what you’re like off the court,” Cunningham said when asked what WNBA fans get wrong about her.
“People need to get to know us players more. And I think if they do, they fall in love with us. And so judging the competitive side of us, compared to our off-court [side],” she added.
pic.twitter.com/dJDA35XaUe
— Lexie Hull and Sophie C reposts TikTok (@HullTiktok) November 15, 2025
While this sentiment would especially pertain to Cunningham and Reese, there’s little question that all WNBA players would share this same stance as Cunningham. Hopefully, fans can keep this in mind once the 2026 season rolls around.
