{"id":152900,"date":"2025-07-07T07:05:11","date_gmt":"2025-07-07T07:05:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/152900\/"},"modified":"2025-07-07T07:05:11","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T07:05:11","slug":"sparks-jab-sophie-cunningham-over-controversial-wnba-comments","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/152900\/","title":{"rendered":"Sparks jab Sophie Cunningham over controversial WNBA comments"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Los Angeles Sparks didn\u2019t let Sophie Cunningham forget. <\/p>\n

Following the Sparks\u2019 89-87 win over the Indiana Fever on Saturday, the team wasted no time trolling Cunningham on social media over her comments about the WNBA\u2019s planned expansion.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cList of cities Indiana has beef with: Detroit Cleveland Los Angeles,\u201d the Sparks\u2019 official X account posted along with the final score of the game.<\/p>\n

This is in reference to Cunningham, a guard for the Fever, who sparked controversy this week when she questioned the excitement around the WNBA\u2019s planned expansion into Detroit and Cleveland, suggesting alternatives like Miami or Nashville might be more appealing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhere do [players] want to play?\u201d she questioned. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhere are they going to get excited to play and draw fans? I do think that Miami would have been a great one. Like, everyone loves Florida. Nashville is an amazing city. Kansas City \u2014 amazing opportunity,\u201d Cunningham added. \u201cI don\u2019t know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or [Cleveland].\u201d<\/p>\n

Fever star Sophie Cunningham on the WNBA expanding to multiple new cities over the next few years:<\/p>\n

“I don\u2019t know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or [Cleveland]” pic.twitter.com\/pncwYpMar3<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) July 1, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n

Cunningham\u2019s comments drew reactions from many, including Cleveland Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert, as well as Cavs superstar Donovan Mitchell. <\/p>\n

\u201cCome on Sophie, obviously you haven\u2019t been to Detroit or Cleveland \u2026 you should support your Midwest sisters in this league and these two great cities that you\u2019re going to come to know and love very shortly,\u201d\u00a0Gilbert said<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Mitchell posted<\/a> \u201cCleveland in the summertime\u201d with fire emojis. <\/p>\n

\"SophieSophie Cunningham caught flack for her comments about Detroit and Cleveland. NBAE via Getty Images<\/p>\n

Cunningham later attempted to clarify her comments.<\/p>\n

\u201cFirst of all, I know the history of the WNBA. I know that both of those cities have had teams before, and they got us where we\u2019re at, so I\u2019m thankful for that,\u201d she said. \u201cAll I was really getting at was Broadway, the off-court lifestyle and so I think that is really intriguing. I think Miami\u2019s intriguing. That\u2019s all I was getting at.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it would be fun to get some teams outside of the NBA market . . . . I think people totally misread the situation. I would never speak down upon middle-class, blue-collar working people. That\u2019s where I come from. I\u2019m from Missouri. I get I\u2019m in Indiana, and that\u2019s why I\u2019m kind of hinting at Broadway sounds fun, Miami sounds fun. That\u2019s all I was getting at.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cunningham had just four points in the loss, and has broken double figures twice this year.<\/p>\n

\"SophieSophie Cunningham arrives before the game against the Los Angeles Sparks at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on July 5, 2025 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Getty Images<\/p>\n

The Fever are 9-9 this season as their cornerstone Caitlin Clark \u2014 who sat Saturday \u2014 continues to deal with an injury-plagued season. <\/p>\n

Cunningham is averaging 5.2 points per game while shooting just 30 percent from deep this season, where she takes the bulk of her shots. <\/p>\n

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