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The WNBA announced the first fan returns in All-Star voting this season on Friday, and four Indiana Fever players clocked in as top-10 fan vote-getters.
But another Fever player a bit lower on that list is skyrocketing in popularity right now.
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That’s 28-year-old guard Sophie Cunningham, otherwise known as Caitlin Clark’s bodyguard.
Ahead of the Fever’s Sunday afternoon road matchup against the Las Vegas Aces, Cunningham doubled down on her decision to back up Clark with a flagrant 2 foul, and subsequent viral melee, in Tuesday’s win over the Connecticut Sun.
“I’m not focused on the extracurricular activities, and you know what, during that, it was just part of the game,” Cunningham said.
“I think the refs had a lot to do with that. It was a build up for a couple years now of them just not protecting the star player of the WNBA. So, at the end of the day, I’m going to protect my teammates.”
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Cunningham emphasized: “That’s what I do. I’m a team player.”
Sun guard Jacy Sheldon, who has had a competitive back-and-forth with Clark since their Big Ten days, poked Clark in the eye midway through the third quarter. Clark reacted, and her and Sheldon shoved each other. That’s when Sun center Tina Charles got between the two backcourt players. But Sun guard Marina Mabrey crashed the scrum and knocked Clark down to the hardwood.
Mabrey wasn’t ejected. Instead, she was given a technical foul. So were Clark and Charles. Sheldon’s foul was upgraded to a flagrant 1.
On Wednesday, the WNBA upgraded Mabrey’s foul to a flagrant 2, meaning she would have been ejected had it been called that way during the game.
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It wasn’t the first time this season the Fever have felt like they’ve been disrespected by officials. Clark, in particular, has repeatedly not gotten calls she, her teammates or her coaches feel she deserves.
Cunningham took matters into her own hands in the final minute of the fourth quarter. She pulled down a driving Sheldon by the head. In response, Sheldon and Sun guard Lindsay Allen stormed Cunningham and pushed her back into fans along the baseline.
Cunningham retaliated by grabbing Sheldon’s hair as the scuffle grew. Cunningham was ejected because of the flagrant 2 foul. Sheldon and Allen both got technicals for fighting and were tossed as well.
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The league later gave Cunningham an additional fine, on top of the standard flagrant 2 foul fine, for participating in the fight.
As Cunningham was ejected, she received heaps of support from Fever fans. That support has continued, not only from Indiana but from sports fans everywhere.
Her jersey sold out in the Fever team store. And she’s gained several hundred thousands of followers across Instagram and TikTok.
“It’s cool, its funny what people are kind of attracted to,” Cunningham said Saturday. “I’m just trying to keep the main thing the main thing, and that’s basketball, trying to win games, sticking up for my teammates, and that’s all part of it.”
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