Caitlin Clark crisis takes twist as ally is branded 'unprofessional'
Sophie Cunningham has come under fire for her scathing attack on the Phoenix Mercury following the latest controversy embroiling her Indiana Fever teammate Caitlin Clark.
Fever superstar - and face of the league - Clark was struck in the neck by Alyssa Thomas after falling to the ground in last week's game against Phoenix Mercury, sparking yet another heated scandal in the WNBA.
Her teammate Cunningham leapt to the former No. 1 pick's defense, claiming that 'nobody likes' the Mercury during an episode of her Show Me Something podcast.
However, her comments have now triggered backlash from elsewhere around the league, with USA Today's WNBA reporter Meghan L. Hall taking aim at the Fever's glamourous player.
Hall, who has covered the WNBA for USA Today since 2023, criticized Cunningham for her unprofessional take as she responded to a clip of the podcast on X.
'Goodness gracious. I -,' Hall began. '1) This is wildly unprofessional.
Sophie Cunningham has come under fire for her scathing attack on the Phoenix Mercury
She hit out after Caitlin Clark was punched in the throat by Mercury's Alyssa Thomas
'2) How is this helping with the *points at everything* current discourse?
'3) There is not any scenario that exists where a player should be saying this about any organization.'
It marks just the latest installment in the saga plaguing the league following the punch on Clark.
The Fever guard was driving to the hoop when she fell to the ground in the paint while under pressure from a number of Mercury defenders.
Three rival players were battling to strip the ball away from Clark and succeeded in doing so. But, while Clark was down on the floor, Thomas charged in and put her closed fist into the Fever superstar's neck.
'You know what's funny? I know people inside their own organization that nobody likes that team this year,' Cunningham had claimed on her podcast last week.
'They say they're the unfriendliest group… so we're not the only ones who feel that way.'
Cunningham's brutal take came in response to the Mercury's since-deleted social media post that appeared to mock Clark.
USA Today's WNBA reporter Meghan L. Hall criticized Cunningham for her Mercury attack
Cunningham took aim at the Mercury as she defended Clark following last week's incident
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Mercury social media staff seemingly celebrated Phoenix’s win over Indiana by posting a doodle of a player lying on the court and asking: ‘De-wanna piece of this?!?’
The doodled player wore a No. 24 jersey, suggesting the post was a reference to Phoenix veteran DeWanna Bonner, who happens to be engaged to Thomas.
As reported by USA Today, the doodle was intended to capture the moment Bonner gave a ‘triumphant roar’ after hitting a shot while absorbing a foul Indiana's Monique Billings in the first half.
And of course, the post gives a subtle nod to Bonner’s name in the caption: ‘De-wanna…’
Some fans initially thought the doodle was a reference to Clark, who wears No. 22, but was nonetheless mistaken as the intended target of the doodle. And as a result, Clark fans erupted online, prompting the Mercury to remove the post altogether to avoid any further confusion, a person with knowledge of the situation told USA Today.
Speaking on her podcast, Cunningham also explained: 'I did not see that happen. None of our team saw that happen in real time, but if we did we would have had her back.
'Unfortunately, this type of s*** happens every single game to her and the league and the refs do absolutely nothing about it.'
Fans were convinced that the Mercury appeared to mock Clark in a since-deleted post
'You see the videos of literally kneeing and cheap-shotting C in the throat - like, if she did that to any of our teammates we would be p***ed. But they are definitely targeting her and the league and the refs do nothing to protect her.
'They're definitely targeting her and the league and the refs do nothing to protect her.'
Cunningham's podcast co-host, West Wilson, went further and accused the WNBA commissioner, Cathy Engelbert, of being jealous of Clark's fame.
'I don't want to get in beef with Cathy but it is like she is jealous of her, or thinks that because she is a bigger face than the WNBA has had, she won't give her the platform,' Wilson said. 'It is so f***ing weird, it is bizarre.'
"What I will never do is give up" – Kimmich rules out international retirement after Germany's World Cup exit
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Germany captain Joshua Kimmich is not considering retiring from international football after Monday's heartbreaking World Cup exit to Paraguay.
"I'll always have the determination to make another attempt. What I will never do is give up," Kimmich told MagentaTV after the match.
AdvertisementAdvertisementThe 31-year-old, who was also part of the squads that crashed out in the group stage at the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, converted his penalty in the shootout. However, it wasn't enough to prevent another disappointing tournament exit.
"I grew up in Germany watching the national team on television, and it always seemed to be the semifinals or the final. Of course, you want to give today's children, the people, and this generation that same experience. The fact is, we weren't able to give the people back home that," Kimmich said.
According to Kimmich, everyone in the team must take full responsibility for the latest failure.
“It's a real shame, especially at a time when it would do us so much good to have something in Germany we can be proud of. Unfortunately, the national team isn't that right now, and we all share responsibility for it,” he said.
"We have to take responsibility – no one can distance themselves from it. We have to own it, because we, the players who were on the pitch, are the ones who messed it up."
Taylor Swift won over Kelce's skeptical friend in backstage encounter
Taylor Swift won over another new fan in Travis Kelce's friend Taylor Lewan, days before the American power couple are expected to get married at New York's Madison Square Garden.
Swift joined Kelce last week for his annual 'Tight End University' - an event he helps plan for practice and networking with players who play in the position where the Kansas City Chiefs star made his name.
Swift has sprinkled some stardust over the last two events with a brief performance at the concert they host each year and this time, ex-NFL man turned podcast host Lewan got to witness Swift preparing to perform backstage.
Speaking on his popular Bussin' With The Boys podcast, Lewan explained: 'I'll just tell you this, dude - I was kind of into her music when I was younger. I haven't been super into it since then. It is just not my genre.
'The girl is incredible. What a performer. We are sitting backstage for a moment and she's about to go out. She's got a cluster, she's got a gaggle of individuals with her. But she's in the back before she walks out and you can see her just getting in the zone.
'I remember just looking at her being like "it is so cool that somebody who is as successful as she is, as famous as she is, she just handles her business the correct way at all times".
Taylor Swift stunned fans with a surprise performance at Travis Kelce's Tight End University
Swift joined Travis Kelce (left) alongside Claire Kittle, George Kittle, Greg Olsen and Talbot Olsen (L-R) at the opening event of Tight End University on Monday
Bussin' With The Boys host Taylor Lewan was impressed by Swift's performance last week
'And for her to sit back, get in the zone and go out and put on a performance, whether it was three minutes or five minutes, it was a very short amount of time, but the pop from the crowd... everybody in that moment felt like she was singing individually to them. And I thought that was just awesome.'
Swift joined Lainey Wilson on the stage to perform her hit 'Love Story' and dedicated it to Kelce's friend and rival tight end George Kittle, who plays for San Francisco 49ers.
'She probably misses ball!' Lewan joked about the lengthy NFL offseason. 'She misses ball a little bit, dude! But she was awesome. It was just really cool to watch people who are outliers in their craft perform.
'And I thought she is clearly that, the biggest superstar in the world. It is just awesome to see all that going down, all while our boy Trav is just bobbing around, stoked to kind of like be there.'
Swift and Kelce are expected to tie the knot this weekend in New York at the city's most iconic venue.
There were people in the industry who wondered if their plans to marry at MSG were a high-profile decoy but Daily Mail earlier this week shared pictures of equipment getting loaded into the venue, seemingly in preparation for the big day.
It remains to be seen if Lewan is going. He has known Kelce for around 10 years but the guestlist has been kept quiet and those attending have been sworn to secrecy.
And if, as Lewan suggested, Swift is missing football then she doesn't have too much longer to wait.
Kelce's Chiefs team start the season with a Monday Night Football showdown against AFC West rivals Denver Broncos on September 14 at Arrowhead Stadium.
