Things got testy in a Tuesday night matchup between the Indiana Fever and the Connecticut Sun. Things got chippy in the first half between Sun guard Jacy Sheldon and Caitlin Clark with the two getting into a verbal spat and even a small shoving match.
Things only got more heated in the second half. At one point, following another run-in with Sheldon, Clark was shoved to the ground. Her teammate, Sophie Cunningham, took exception to this, and with 46 seconds remaining in the game, committed a hard foul against Sheldon to stand up for Clark.
The league assessed Cunningham a flagrant two foul at the time, but has since decided even more punishment is necessary, according to one prominent insider.
“Marina Mabrey’s technical from last night’s Fever-Sun game has been upgraded to a flagrant 2, the league told ESPN. A flagrant 2 comes from a standard fine. Additionally, Sophie Cunningham was fined separately for her hard foul with 46 secs to play No players will be suspended,” reported ESPN’s Alexa Philippou on Wednesday.
Fans reacted to the news on social media.
“Sophie took up for her teammate, Mabrey got hit with a flagrant 2, and still no suspensions. The league clearly wants to keep things moving, but that kind of protection from Sophie? That’s the stuff that builds real team chemistry. Respect to Cunningham,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
“The fact that the refereeing hasn’t changed indicates that they are officiating the way that the W brass want them too. Evidently this is the product that the W wants to be known for,” one fan added.
“If the league doesn’t do anything to protect CC from those jealous and cowardly girls, then Sophie does the job the league should do. I’m sure Jacy will think twice before dirty play again,” someone else wrote.
It’ll be interesting to see how things play out on the court the next time these teams face each other.
About Qwame Skinner
Qwame Skinner has loved both writing and sports his entire life. In addition to his sports coverage at Comeback Media, Qwame writes novels, and his debut; The First Casualty, an adult fantasy, is out now.