Sophie Cunningham Calls Caitlin Clark Critics ‘Dumb as F---’ If They Think She’s Not the Face of the WNBA

NEED TO KNOW

• Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham said people who don't think Caitlin Clark is the face of the WNBA are "dumb as f---"
• Clark's teammate said she's seen first hand how players around the league want to show Clark "what the W really is"
• Cunningham said the treatment towards Clark is "too much"

Sophie Cunningham had some strong words for Caitlin Clark's critics.

On the debut episode of her podcast Show Me Something, co-hosted by Bravo star West Wilson, Cunningham, 28, slammed the idea that her Indiana Fever teammate isn't the "face of" the WNBA.

"It literally pisses me off when people are like, 'She's not the face of the league,'" said Cunningham. "We have a lot of badasses in our league, and hell yeah, I'm all for that, but when people try to argue that she's not the face of our league or that our league would be where we're at without her, you're dumb as shit. You're literally dumb as f---."

Cunningham, who recently told PEOPLE she's gotten her Fever teammates watching her co-host on Summer House, also said she's seen first-hand that some players in the league give Clark, 23, a tougher time on the court because of her stardom.

"Even when I wasn’t on her team, I know the talks that Phoenix had in the locker room, like, 'No we're gonna show her what the W really is,'" Cunningham revealed.

The guard, who is in her first year with Indiana, said she understands the mentality "to a certain extent," and that "every rookie coming into a league" will experience some level of on-court hazing from veterans. "But there's just more for her," said Cunnginham. "It's her second year, and now being on her team and seeing it, I'm like, 'What are people doing?' It's too much."

Cunningham said she's "over it" and added, "If I'm saying it's too much, then it's probably too much."

Clark has generally rejected suggestions that players are being rougher with her when her fans have complained about the lack of calls for the Fever star, chalking up injuries like a poked eye to competitive play in the league.

In July, Clark was voted the ninth best guard in the league in a survey voted on by WNBA players. Legendary sports broadcaster Dick Vitale said Clark finished in ninth place because of jealousy from others in the league. “Absolutely PURE JEALOUSY that ⁦@WNBA⁩ players voted Caitlin Clark the 9th best guard,” Vitale, 86, wrote. “Some day they will realize what she has done for ALL of the players in the WNBA.”

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And after the All-Star Game on July 19, fans slammed Sparks star Kelsey Plum when she, unprompted, revealed that players on Clark's All-Star team were not in attendance for a players-only meeting to discuss wearing statement shirts amid their fight for higher pay.  "Not to tattletale; zero members of Team Clark were very present for that," Plum, 30, told reporters.

Fans said the comment was "unnecessary" and accused Plum of "throwing other players under the bus" during a moment that was meant to be united. "They’re already showing cracks in this 'united front,' " wrote one user.

Another fan said, "I don’t think creating any division among players is the right move when discussing this topic that impacts everyone in the league."

Read the original article on People