Indiana Fever forward Sophie Cunningham has received a considerable amount of attention on social media as of late. Whether it’s for her active display of support for her teammates or her beauty, Cunningham is slowly becoming a popular figure.
Unfortunately, her growing popularity has also led to her facing penalties recently. In a recent TikTok video posted by the 28-year-old, she can be seen explicitly taking shots at the officials in the WNBA.
Any action taken by players towards officials cannot be overlooked. In reponse, Cunningham revealed that the league fined her $500 for posting the video.
Sophie Cunningham reveals that she was fined $500 by the WNBA for this TikTok 😳
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) July 23, 2025
In many ways, the forward doesn’t have much of an argument to defend her case. The audio is insulting, and with the additional caption being directed at “some refs”, Cunningham left little room for subtlety.
A $500 penalty may be considered quite harsh. But when recollecting some of the fines levied on NBA players for criticizing referees, the penalty pales in comparison.
A professional athlete taking a direct shot at officials on social media is relatively uncommon. But the general discontent the players have with officials is quite widespread. Among WNBA players, Fever guard Caitlin Clark recently went ballistic after an official ruled against her.
In the third quarter of a game against the Connecticut Sun, Clark reacted strongly to a referee’s call she disagreed with. In response to this, the Fever star seemingly charged at the official, only to be held back by assistant coach Brian January. Shockingly enough, Clark wasn’t assessed a technical foul for this outburst.
The ongoing tension between players and officials shows no sign of resolution. The aspect of human error is an inevitability in any situation. Unfortunately, the stakes of professional sports can often blur the lines of consideration.
In this regard, several players have poor relationships with referees. A prime example of this in the NBA is Chris Paul‘s feud with Scott Foster. Given Paul’s noticeable drop-off in games officiated by Foster, the tension is hard to ignore.
Some fans have even suggested fining referees to hold them accountable. This has been widely viewed as a flawed approach.
While players like Stephen Curry have been incredibly vocal about voicing their frustrations about officiating, NBA commissioner Adam Silver has defended the referees.
By mentioning that the officials also face internal evaluations and reviews, Silver subtly suggested that the players stop complaining about officials, effectively shutting down any further debates on the matter.
