Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham was fined $500 by the WNBA after posting a TikTok that appeared to mock league officiating, a source with knowledge of the fine unauthorized to discuss the matter publicly told The Athletic.<\/p>\n
In the video, Cunningham lip-synced to a line from Sabrina Carpenter\u2019s song \u201cManchild\u201d \u2014 \u201cStupid, or is it slow? Maybe it\u2019s useless\u201d \u2014 with an overlying caption: \u201c@ some refs.\u201d<\/p>\n
I got fined $500 for this TikTok \ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23 idk why this is funny to me\u2026 like ok \ud83d\udc4d\ud83c\udffc you got it bud! Cause there\u2019s not more important things to be worried about with our league right now pic.twitter.com\/ELAlguHhMQ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Sophie Cunningham (@sophaller) July 23, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n The clip, posted Friday, has garnered more than 1.2 million views. Wednesday, Cunningham responded to the fine on X.<\/p>\n \u201cI got fined $500 for this TikTok. idk why this is funny to me. Like ok, you got it bud! Cause there\u2019s not more important things to be worried about with our league right now.\u201d<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t the first time the Fever have faced disciplinary action over officiating remarks. Coach Stephanie White was fined earlier this season after questioning the league\u2019s consistency after a loss to the Washington Mystics.<\/p>\n When asked in May whether the WNBA should protect players from overly physical play, White didn\u2019t hold back.<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, I think we can get better in certain areas as far as how we call the game, consistency with how we call the game,\u201d White responded. \u201cAre we going to say that we want a free-flowing offensive game, or are we going to have tough, grind-out physical games? And whatever way it is, the players will adjust and coaches will adjust, but we can\u2019t have it be one way one quarter and another way another quarter.\u201d<\/p>\n Cunningham was also fined earlier this year after being assessed a flagrant 2 for her role in a skirmish that broke out at the conclusion of a mid-June game between the Fever and Connecticut Sun. She received an additional fine for her role in the scuffle that followed the initial foul.<\/p>\n This season, WNBA players and coaches have repeatedly criticized the league over officiating standards.<\/p>\n Fine transparency has also been an issue, as coach and player fines are seldom publicized by the league, sparking complaints about the lack of public information and inconsistency with punishments. In early June, New York Liberty guard Natasha Cloud<\/a> and forward Isabelle Harrison received a fine warning for wearing hats on the sideline of New York\u2019s victory over the Las Vegas Aces. Neither played in the game due to injury.<\/p>\n The warning, as was the case with Cunningham, sparked frustration with the league\u2019s fine protocols.<\/p>\n \u201cI just feel like we\u2019re doing nitpicky s\u2014,\u201d Cloud said. \u201cI\u2019d rather the W focus on actual things than trying to take our money for wearing what we want to wear and expressing ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n The Fever lost to Cloud\u2019s Liberty in each of their last two games. Indiana hosts the Aces on Thursday night.<\/p>\n Both incidents highlight ongoing tensions among WNBA players, coaches and the league over officiating standards and accountability.<\/p>\n \u2014 The Athletic\u2019s Ben Pickman contributed to this report.<\/p>\n (Photo: David L. Nemec \/ Getty Images)<\/p>\n