The Atlanta Dream and the Indiana Fever’s recent matchup had everything. From a monumental comeback to an overtime win to physical play and, of course, officiating drama. On top of a devastating loss, Angel Reese is now facing backlash for a stealthy shove to her opponent, Sophie Cunningham.
On August 16, 2026, the Dream hosted the Fever for a marquee showdown at State Farm Arena. With the regular season closing in, both teams were on the hunt for a win. In a dramatic, high-intensity match, Indiana rallied from an 18-point deficit to defeat Atlanta 95-91 in overtime in Atlanta’s backyard.
That comeback alone should have been the headliner from the Sunday match; however, when a slow-motion clip of an off-ball exchange between Reese and Cunningham hit the internet, that’s all everyone could talk about.
Outkick uploaded the replay on its X (formerly Twitter) account, calling it “another Angel Reese foul.”
In the video, Cunningham can be seen trying to create a position near the hoop when Reese shoves her arms into the Fever guard’s back. Despite Cunningham falling to the ground, the officials didn’t call a foul.
At full speed, especially in a physical struggle for rebounding position, the collision might look different to viewers. The slow-motion angle, however, sparked outrage from WNBA viewers who claimed the Dream forward had intentionally shoved Cunningham in front of a referee. One X user said that referees should be held responsible for the league’s skewed officiating and even accused them of overlooking contact with certain players.
The user wrote, “Look at the ref just standing there. Sophie Cunningham is not going to get a call. I wonder why? That is a push right in the back in front of the ref. The Fever beat the Dream and the refs today.”
Look at the ref just standing there. Sophie Cunningham is not going to get a call. I wonder why? That is a push right in the back in front of the ref. The Fever beat the Dream and the refs today
— CHI TOWN NATIVE SON (@miller_dan59816) August 17, 2026
Tagging the league on X, one user noted, “@WNBA should be held accountable for these atrocious officiating since they won’t hold their refs accountable and won’t ensure all their players have good sportsmanship and self-discipline, they should be responsible for the special whistles, wrong/no calls, ghost fouls.”
“Angel Reese has done this her whole career and it never gets called … what kind of privilege is that ?” asked another.
A fourth user added, “I’ve never seen so many no calls. Don’t know how the ref missed that one. I guess pushing some to the floor is not a foul. She did just so she can get open and even when she’s wide open they didn’t get the ball to her.”
While one viewer claimed, “And the league ignores her dirty play to prop her up,” another quipped, “She had about 15 fouls in the game, if they were called.”
Another user chimed in, writing, “Fouls against Sophie aren’t called, no surprise there.”
Further blasting the officials, one viewer noted, “She knew she could get away with it because there was a referee right there watching her push Cunningham to the ground. No reason to hide it anymore.”
The Reese-Cunningham incident on Sunday was unfortunately not an isolated one. In the same game, the Dream forward was caught on camera shoving and grabbing Cunningham’s teammate, Caitlin Clark.
Reese and Clark were fighting for rebounding position with less than five minutes remaining in the first quarter during the Sunday game. As the Fever guard chased the loose ball in the sequence, Reese ended up shoving Clark in the neck.
This incident became the latest chapter in the Reese-Clark rivalry as furious fans took to social media to express their displeasure over the Atlanta player’s conduct on the court. Some users even called out the referees for not only failing to call a foul on Reese but also ignoring Clark’s repeated pleas for one.
