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Sophie Cunningham Facing Punishment From WNBA After Serious Incident in Fever-Sun Game

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Paolo Songco | Last updated Jun 18, 2025 7:39 AM ET

To say that Tuesday's matchup between the Indiana Fever and the Connecticut Sun was a testy affair would be an understatement.

Ultimately, it was the Fever who secured an 88-71 victory to improve to 6-5 on the season and book their place in the Commissioner's Cup Final on July 1. Despite the blowout nature of the game, however, there was no shortage of heated incidents throughout the contest.

Caitlin Clark was involved in an altercation in the third quarter that saw the reigning WNBA Rookie of the Year get hit with a technical foul. Clark was assessed with a tech for shoving Sun guard Jacy Sheldon after the latter poked the Fever star in the eye.

Later in the game, Indiana guard Sophie Cunningham was ejected for what was deemed an unsportsmanlike foul on Sheldon. Cunningham was called for a Flagrant foul 2 and was automatically ejected after taking down Sheldon during a fastbreak play.

Things were HEATED between the Sun and Fever tonight

-Caitlin Clark T'd up
-Marina Mabrey T'd up
-Jacy Sheldon assessed flagrant
-Sophie Cunningham ejected pic.twitter.com/CUnso6z4a9
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) June 18, 2025

Cunningham is now facing further punishment from the league for her actions on Tuesday night. According to the WNBA rulebook, a Flagrant foul 2 is defined as "unnecessary and excessive contact" that warrants an immediate ejection from the game. Moreover, "the offender will be subject to a fine and/or suspension by the President."

This only means that Cunningham will be facing an automatic fine for her foul on Sheldon. As the rule indicates, the 28-year-old could be in danger of being hit with a suspension as well should the WNBA decide that her behavior warrants the same.

It appears that Cunningham is taking all this in stride, though. The 6-foot-1 guard, who joined the Fever during the offseason via a trade deal with the Phoenix Mercury, took to Instagram shortly after her ejection to post a cryptic photo.

Cunningham posted a picture of herself shrugging and with a smile on her face, which, based on the timing, appears to be her reaction to her ejection against Connecticut.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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