Image Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

“No One Likes Us”- Sophie Cunningham Opens Up on Indiana Fever’s Struggles Amid Turbulent 2025 Campaign

Sophie Cunningham indirectly slams the league amid turbulent WNBA 2025 season.

Image Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Indiana Fever veteran guard Sophie Cunningham opened up on the team’s turbulent campaign in the WNBA 2025 season. Notably, the Fever, who began the season with a blowout victory over the Chicago Sky, have been struggling off-late. Before their recent 94-86 victory over the Dallas Wings, they suffered three losses in four games. Following their 88-82 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks, Cunningham appeared in front of the media and said that the Fever are circled around everyone’s schedule.

She said, “We are circled on everybody’s schedule. No one likes us, right? Everyone in our locker room, that’s the only type of people that we have that we can lean on, and we’ve gotta be better in that area. We have got to stay disciplined, we have to stay focused, we need to get consistent and we gotta lean on each other. I think that we’ve kind of wavered a little bit on that.”

Sophie Cunningham on Fever being on everyone's schedule and this rough patch:

"We are circled on everybody's schedule. No one like us. Everyone in our locker room, thats the only type of people that we have that we can lean on" https://t.co/XAdJQ6UPb0 pic.twitter.com/Di8bPv6zEb
— AK (@Sudharsan_AK10) June 27, 2025

Cunningham’s message clears that the team has felt like a target every time. Be it the hype around Caitlin Clark or criticism from fans and the media, Fever have been on the receiving end of heat all season long. Recently, during the clash between the Fever and the Connecticut Sun, Marina Mabrey shoved Caitlin Clark in the back and received a Flagrant 2. Cunningham came in the defense of her teammate and was ejected from the game along with two others.

Sophie Cunningham Responds to Being Labeled As ‘Dirty Player’

Cunningham responded to the trolls after being labelled as a ‘dirty player’ on social media. Notably, Cunningham came in defense of Caitlin Clark during the Connecticut Sun controversy, sparking backlash on social media. Notably, the 28-year-old’s criticism isn’t something new, and has been following her since her NCAA days with the Missouri Tigers. However, Cunningham remains unaffected by her and stands her ground of protecting her teammate.

Responding to the trolls and criticism, she told Slam Online, “For me, I don’t listen to all that noise. I got that stuff in college, too. We beat South Carolina multiple years in a row and all of a sudden I’m the dirty player. And it’s like, ‘Nah, I’m just out working.’ I’m working y’all’s a*s, you know what I mean? I’ve been used to it but I just know that I have a very tight circle. I lean on them quite a bit…For me, I just want to be the best teammate.”

She added, “I wanna be the best competitor. I wanna do whatever it takes for my team to win and all that other noise can just be squashed.”

Notably, in their 94-86 victory over the Dallas Wings, Cunningham dropped five points and four rebounds. Talking about the Fever, currently tallying 8-8 in the 2025 WNBA season, they will be back in action on Tuesday, July 1, as they clash against the Minnesota Lynx.

Sophie Cunningham

WNBA 2025

Garima Ranawat

Garima is a sports writer with around two years of experience in Indian sports and a newfound interest in the NBA. Inspired by the leadership of cricketing legend MS Dhoni, she wishes to bring in newer perspectives to the NBA fanatics with her writing.