Sophie Cunningham explains viral pointing meme and jumps to Caitlin Clark's defense
Sophie Cunningham explains viral pointing meme and jumps to Caitlin Clark's defense
Rory RobinsonSat, June 27, 2026 at 11:49 PM UTC
0
Sophie Cunningham explained her finger-pointing at Alyssa Thomas during the Fever–Mercury clash -Credit:Youtube @ShowMe_Pod
Sophie Cunningham’s finger point quickly turned into one of the WNBA’s biggest memes, but the Indiana Fever guard says it began because she was standing up for Caitlin Clark.
Even though the WNBA star called the moment "stupid," Cunningham kept up her finger-pointing from one game against the Phoenix Mercury to the next. The first game started it, and in their second meeting just two days later, she poked fun at the whole situation.
On her Show Me Something podcast with a controversial Summer House cast member who led Ciara Miller to date her close friend behind her back, Cunningham finally talked about the moment that went viral after the Fever's win over the Phoenix Mercury.
Meanwhile, Mercury coach Nate Tibbetts defended his players against Stephanie White's accusations of cheap shots.
• Phoenix Mercury head coach hits out at Caitlin Clark 'cheap shots' claims
• WNBA faces massive backlash after omitting Caitlin Clark from history
Cunningham said she wasn’t trying to taunt anyone, but argued with officials because she believed Clark was treated unfairly. Despite her omission from the 2026 ESPY shortlist for the WNBA’s top player, political commentators, Fever fans, and media personalities have all argued that the league treats Clark less favorably than its other stars.
The altercation occurred during a tense fourth quarter and resulted in multiple technical fouls for Clark, Cunningham, DeWanna Bonner, Alyssa Thomas, and Myisha Hines-Allen. Hines-Allen was later ejected after getting a second technical.
Advertisement
Cunningham’s silent finger point soon became the highlight of the exchange. She felt that if Clark got a technical, Bonner should have been penalized too.
"But she fouled and there's an extra. DB is the one that did something extra and then Caitlin got the tech. So I walked out there and I was literally talking to the ref," she said.
"I was like, 'Now Caitlin got one. But why didn't she get one? Because if Caitlin's gonna get one then she should have got one because it shouldn't have been one or the other.'"
"I was just kind of pointing and she's like, 'Don't you point at me.' And I was like, 'Oh, shouldn't have said that.' I didn't say a word. That's so stupid. Like that is the stupidest thing I've ever done."
Cunningham continued to mock the finger-pointing days after the game -Credit:USA Network
Rather than ignore the meme, Cunningham embraced it. She laughed about fans making shirts with the image and said she was surprised by how creative people online could be.
"I know, but I'm telling you," she said. "Everyone's like, 'What?' I think it's dumb, but it was pissing her off and I couldn't help myself. I could not. She was losing her s--- and all I was doing was literally pointing."
The podcast aired shortly after Cunningham jokingly posed with the gesture for Fever fans, despite having posted "No pointing today" on social media earlier. She also said there’s no feud with Bonner, despite their brief and rocky time as teammates in Indiana.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
