The WNBA has formally blocked itself from profiting off of Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham’s viral finger point, but it’s not blocking her.
Cunningham, who now leads the league with a 3-point average of 43.7 percent, has become one of the league’s most popular and well-known players this year, especially after she performed her finger-pointing at Mercury player DeWanna Bonner on June 22 during the game between her Fever and the Phoenix Mercury.
She held out her accusatory finger for a long 22 seconds on the boards and instantly became a massive Internet meme.
But the WNBA has ruled her viral moment “derogatory” and, as such, will not look to profit financially from the viral sensation.
“For licensed apparel, we generally do not feature or look to monetize player conduct from a confrontation between our members,” a WNBPA spokesperson told Front Office Sports.
As for Cunningham, she can profit from images of the meme so long as she does not incorporate the WNBA logo.
Even the kids at Cunningham’s youth camp were excited to do the finger-point with the player, Brobible reported.
As the WNBA continues to fight for relevance, many see the league’s refusal to capitalize on the meme as yet another failure.
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