Sophie Cunningham isn’t interested in league statements fixing what social media breaks. As Alyssa Thomas dealt with a suspension and fine, then spoke out about death threats aimed at WNBA players, the league rushed out support.
Stephanie White and Caitlin Clark both condemned the harassment. Cunningham, fresh off her own viral pointing meme moment, took a different approach entirely.
Cunningham Says Statements Won’t Stop the Hate
Speaking during her practice media availability, the Indiana Fever guard argued that mental toughness, not press releases, is what separates players who survive online hate from those who don’t.
The controversy started with Alyssa Thomas. After getting suspended and fined, Thomas didn’t hold back, saying the league keeps talking about player safety on the court while ignoring the death threats players face off it.
Stephanie White responded with a lengthy statement condemning the harassment. Caitlin Clark followed with her own. The entire league rallied around Thomas. Cunningham saw it differently.
“You can put out statements as much as you want, but at the end of the day, you’re in the entertainment business. That’s where mental toughness comes in,” Cunningham said in her practice media availability. “If you’re going to live by praise, you’re going to die by the hate.”
She didn’t stop there. “I think it’s on the individual person to have mental toughness. Some people can deal with it, some people can’t. You can see the ones who can, and unfortunately, there are some who can’t.”
That’s a hard line to draw in a league that’s spent the past year building out its “No Space for Hate” campaign, which monitors social media threats, strengthens conduct standards, boosts security, and expands mental health resources.
The campaign launched in 2025. It hasn’t stopped this. Three players tied to this exact story, Clark, Paige Bueckers during her UConn days, and Cunningham herself, have all had stalkers arrested. The league can write all the policies it wants. It can’t police an anonymous account typing threats at 2 a.m.
Cunningham isn’t just weighing in on Thomas’s situation. She’s living her own version of internet fame. Her pointing celebration from the Fever’s 86-77 win over the Phoenix Mercury on June 22 turned into a viral meme, popping up everywhere, including on the White House’s own social media, which used her image alongside President Donald Trump.
Asked about it Friday, Cunningham brushed it off with the same directness she brought to the harassment topic. “So goofy,” she said, via Tony East. “It’s getting worldwide views now, and so it’s just been kind of fun to see, but honestly, I’ve been like dying in my bed, so I haven’t really seen.”
She’s also nursing an illness that kept her out of practice. “Well, it’s not like I was on vacation, I was rotting in my bed. I feel better, just kind of waiting for my energy and this headache to kind of go away a little bit, but I’m here, and so that’s great,” Cunningham said.
She’s set to play Sunday against the Las Vegas Aces.
