Indiana Fever’s Sophie Cunningham has faced multiple fines this WNBA season, some for incidents on the court, others for her criticism of officials on social media and on her podcast Show Me Something. Earlier this week, she set up a GoFundMe page in response, accoridng to Daily Mail report.
Indiana Fever’s Sophie Cunningham has faced multiple fines this WNBA season.(Getty Images via AFP)
At first, the page listed a 1 million dollar target before Cunningham reduced it to 26,000. She made it clear the fundraiser was not serious. “This is more of a joke than anything,” Cunningham wrote. “For fines only or to a charity or for a yacht idk…”
Soon after, she clarified where the donations would go. “A yacht would be nice, but whatever we raise here will be going directly to Ronald McDonald House Charities. I’ll take care of my own fines. Y’all are the best,” she said. By Thursday night, the page had collected more than 3,000 dollars.
League wide criticism of officiating
Complaints about refereeing have been widespread this season. Minnesota head coach Cheryl Reeve was fined after storming onto the court to confront officials following an injury to Napheesa Collier.
After the Lynx season ended, Collier, who serves as vice president of the players union, took her frustrations directly to commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “We have the best league in the world. We have the best fans in the world. But we have the worst leadership in the world,” Collier said. “Year after year, the only thing that remains consistent is the lack of accountability from our leaders.”
Collier also criticized Engelbert for allegedly saying Caitlin Clark “should be grateful” for playing in the league and added, “Only the losers complain about the refs.” She argued that leadership was hiding behind the term “sustainability” instead of addressing officiating problems. “What is truly unsustainable is keeping a good product on the floor while allowing officials to lose control of games. Fans see it every night… Yet leadership just issues fines and looks the other way. They ignore the issues that everyone inside the game is begging to be fixed. That is negligence.”
Commissioner’s response
Engelbert issued a statement after Collier’s remarks. “I have the utmost respect for Napheesa Collier and for all the players in the WNBA. Together we have all worked tirelessly to transform this league. My focus remains on ensuring a bright future for the players and the WNBA, including collaborating on how we continue to elevate the game,” Engelbert said. “I am disheartened by how Napheesa characterized our conversations and league leadership, but even when our perspectives differ, my commitment to the players and to this work will not waver.”