Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham blasted rival A’ja Wilson over a viral incident where Wilson entered the stands and confronted a fan.
Wilson entered the spectator area during the Indiana Fever vs. Las Vegas Aces game on Tuesday, September 29, a game the Fever won 99-89.
According to Wilson, a male fan had stepped toward her, which is why she confronted him — however, video replays showed that while the fan did point and yell at her, he never left the spectator area or made a true move towards the WNBA MVP.
Therefore, since Wilson entered the stands, she should have been ejected from the game according to the league’s rule book. However, she was not, and in the end, received zero punishment at all, which Cunningham finds laughable, as she believes Wilson broke the rules and should have been punished.
Sophie Cunningham Criticizes A’ja Wilson
Speaking on the “No Hesitation Show,” Cunningham criticized Wilson for what she believes is the WNBA MVP looking for a double standard.
“She’s like the LeBron James of our league, and so of course they’re not going to suspend her… Something should have happened. The two people who came off the bench onto the court, that should have happened. I think there’s definitely a double standard,” Cunningham said (via B/R).
“We yell from the rooftops that we want equality, that we want to be treated like the men, that we want all this stuff and we deserve all these things, and we do, we do deserve it. But if you’re asking for all these fans to come— and you have new fans, who are real sports fans, and they come and do something that a sports fan would probably do if you’re on the opposing team, and then you’re going to go for him for just pointing, saying that you fouled? Grow up.”
Fever Eliminated by Aces
In the end, Wilson and the Aces got the last laugh as they defeated the Fever 2-1 and advanced to the next series, so Wilson has a chance to keep playing and win another ring, while Cunningham and the Fever are now at home awaiting their next move.
A lot of fans online have seen Cunningham’s recent comments about the incident and believe she is being a sore loser and crying about sour grapes. Many fans also believe that the incident with the fan awakened a beast in Wilson, who went on to have a massive Game 3 and help the Aces knock the Fever out of the playoffs.
While that may be true, the league does have rules for a reason, and while it’s understandable the league wouldn’t have wanted the top player in the WNBA to not play in a critical playoff game, it does open up a massive can of worms going forward when a fighter is allowed to clearly break the rules according to the league’s own rulebook.
We’ll see if there is any more fallout from this in the future, but right now, it feels like Wilson got off scot-free due to being the best player in the league, and for Cunningham, it’s simply a double standard.
Sophie Cunningham Blasts Rival A’ja Wilson: ‘Grow Up’