WNBA guard Sophie Cunningham answered an Athletic column calling for the Indiana Fever to let her walk this offseason with a two-word reply on her podcast: “Suck it.”
The unrestricted free agent, who averaged fewer than eight points a game off the bench this season, responded on her No Hesitation podcast to an Athletic column by Candace Buckner arguing she is not worth the “circus” she brings to the franchise.
Buckner wrote that Cunningham turned the Fever’s season into a sideshow and that the team should move on.
So, if the Fever ever want to go back to being a basketball team again and follow the lead of rivals openly clashing with the forces trying to hijack their league, then Cunningham has to go.
Cunningham did not name Buckner or the outlet. She argued her critics were chasing relevance.
“That’s why I literally don’t even care what anyone says about me anymore,” Cunningham said.
If you’re going to live by the praise, you’re going to die by the hate. The majority of these people have never picked up a ball in their entire lives, and they’re just, like, thirsty to have attention or be relevant in some type of way. I know what I bring to the table. It’s not always in the stat sheet. So for you to not say I’m effective, or any of that, whatever. Suck it.
Her podcast partner, trainer Drew Hanlen, described the column as an “absolute hate piece.” He noted the guard finished as the WNBA’s fourth-leading bench scorer this season and ranked among the top five three-point shooters by field goal percentage.
Cunningham also drew a shot from former Fever teammate Sydney Colson, who claimed on her Unsupervised podcast that the guard should be “ashamed” of her comments on transgender athletes. “When you say things that are harmful, talking about the trans shit. Nobody respects you,” Colson said. “Shut the fuck up. Nobody wants to hear your opinion.”
Cunningham averaged 7.9 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists for the Fever, who the Las Vegas Aces eliminated in the first round of the 2026 playoffs. Her one-year, fully guaranteed $665,000 contract expired after the regular season. Over eight years with the Fever and Phoenix Mercury, she has earned $1.3 million in salary.
The feud follows Cunningham’s July comments to ESPN, where the guard said she wanted to protect “young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”
The exchange drew a split response on social media: some users took the guard’s side against the outlet, while others pressed the roster question her reply left unanswered.