Sophie Cunningham: WNBA Players ‘Definitely Targeting’ Caitlin Clark

Are WNBA players deliberately targeting Caitlin Clark on the court? Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham thinks so. On her podcast, she was blunt: “They are definitely targeting (Clark), and the league and the refs do nothing to protect her.”

Her comments arrive on the heels of a telling incident. Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas drew a Flagrant Foul 2 penalty and a one-game suspension for contact involving Clark. The suspension sent a message—though perhaps not the one the league intended—about just how physical things have gotten.

Clark’s back injury sidelined her for the Fever’s Saturday win over the Los Angeles Sparks. This marks her second injury absence this season. The pattern is hard to ignore: the rookie keeps getting hurt, and the suspicion lingers that aggressive play is part of the problem.

Cunningham, who played college ball at Missouri, has made herself Clark’s champion on this issue. She’s paid a price for speaking up—fined before for comments on her “Show Me Something” podcast and for a TikTok from last season. Yet she keeps pushing back, suggesting the problem hasn’t gone away.

The Fever take on the Las Vegas Aces on Sunday, July 5, with Clark’s status still in doubt. How the league responds—if it does—remains an open question.