Sophie Cunningham rips WNBA officiating after Paige Bueckers benefits from whistles in Wings' win over Fever

Now with her own podcast to voice additional frustrations over WNBA officiating this season, Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham ripped the refs this week following Tuesday night's one-point loss to the Dallas Wings after she said rookie Paige Bueckers benefited from several calls.

Bueckers finished with 16 points on 6 of 19 shooting and only took four free throws, but Cunningham took issue with the way the game was called. Cunningham was whistled for a flagrant foul on Bueckers in the first quarter during a close-out on a 3-point attempt that did not appear intentional.

"I love Paige to death," Cunningham said Wednesday during her latest "Show Me Something" episode. "Do not get me wrong. I think she's a helluva player and would love to play with her one day. But those refs were giving her every freakin' whistle last night. Like, you literally couldn't touch her. That shit is so annoying to me. And if you're gonna do that, then give it to our guards. I just hate the inconsistency.

"We know she's a good rookie, and she's gonna get some whistles. But like, to get the treatment she got last night was crazy. Crazy. She's gonna be one of those players, she's already gonna be a GOAT, she's gonna be a Hall of Famer. Everyone knows it. She's a freakin' helluva player. But getting some of those whistles already? Oh my. I couldn't."

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Brad Crawford

Bueckers drew several hand-check fouls against Cunningham and Lexie Hull, who combined for eight fouls in the game.

Bueckers, the 2025 WNBA Draft's No. 1 pick, is averaging 18.1 points and 5.4 assists per game as a rookie out of UConn. Tuesday's victory over Indiana snapped a four-game skid for the Wings, who are 9-24 overall this season.

Cunningham's season-long complaints

Cunningham was fined last week for a second time this season for criticizing league officials. During her debut episode of her podcast last month, Cunningham complained about "inconsistent" officiating.

"If I was a ref, I know I would mess up all the time," Cunningham said. "I'm not saying that your job is easy, but when it is a simple call in front of your face multiple times, what are you doing? What are you doing?"

Cunningham didn't apologize in June following her ejection against the Connecticut Sun after defending teammate Caitlin Clark. Clark was shoved in the back by Marina Mabrey during the third quarter amidst a melee that began when Connecticut's Jacy Sheldon raked Clark across the face. 

Mabrey was eventually hit with a Flagrant 2 after the game. Cunningham retaliated in the final minute of play with a toss of Sheldon to the floor on a layup attempt in a lopsided game. Cunningham addressed the play -- and her repeated issues with league officiating -- after practice the following day.

"I'm not focused on the extracurricular activities," Cunningham said. "During that, it was just part of the game. I think the refs had a lot to do with that. It was a build up for a couple years now of them just not protecting the star player of the WNBA. And so, at the end of the day, I'm going to protect my teammates. 

"That's what I do. I'm a team player, so it's all good."