Sophie Cunningham fires back at men over 1v1 claims

Sophie Cunningham, a veteran WNBA guard for the Indiana Fever, publicly questioned why professional women’s basketball players miss wide-open layups.

“Why do we miss so many wide open layups? It’s a joke. What the f–k is that?”

Cunningham said, according to a Fox News report published on Thursday.

The comment came during a column that also covered Curt Cignetti’s remarks on the College Football Playoff rankings and an incident involving Lakers star Luka Doncic.

Cunningham did not name any specific teammate or opponent in her remark.

The column did not provide additional context about which game or practice session prompted the comment.

Cunningham’s layup critique appeared in the same news cycle as a separate story about Dothan City Schools in Alabama.

Dothan City Schools posted a job listing on its official Facebook page seeking a head football coach for Dothan High School’s Wolves program.

The listed annual salary range for the position is $150,000 to $180,000.

No other Alabama high school football coaching salaries were mentioned in the column for comparison.

The juxtaposition of the two items — a WNBA star questioning basic scoring efficiency and a public school offering a six-figure salary for a football coach — drew attention online.

Cunningham has been one of the most talked-about players in the WNBA during the 2026 season.

According to data shared by Brendan Kaminsky, Cunningham gained more Instagram followers during the 2026 season than the other 49 most-followed WNBA players combined.

She also gained more Instagram followers than any NBA player during the same period, Kaminsky reported.

Cunningham’s social media growth was fueled in part by her outspoken views on transgender athletes competing in women’s sports.

An interview she gave on that topic, published by ESPN, became a national talking point in July 2026.

Former ESPN analyst Ryan Clark later suggested that the network timed the Cunningham feature to shift public attention away from his on-air firing earlier that same week.

Clark made the accusation during an appearance on the “All The Smoke” podcast.

“Sophie Cunningham says something and they say, ‘A great brand switch for ESPN. Ryan Clark was fired this week and now Sophie Cunningham leads the news.’ That’s what they wanted,” Clark said on the podcast.

Cunningham has not publicly responded to Clark’s allegation.

On the court, Cunningham averaged career-best shooting numbers during the 2026 season as a key reserve for the Fever.

She is set to become a free agent in late January 2027.

“I’m just embracing where my two feet are at,” Cunningham told the U.S. Mirror when asked about her upcoming free agency.

“I live a pretty blessed lifestyle. I’m going to live it up, and I’m just happy to be where I’m at.”

Cunningham also mentioned that she is working on a business project called Project B, which she said will start in January.

“It’s becoming a businesswoman,” Cunningham said.

“It’s owning things. It’s growing into who I am, and my personal life and my faith, but also on the basketball court.”

Her Halloween weekend included at least one impersonator: a model named Keaton T. Oaks posted a Sophie Cunningham-themed costume photo on Instagram that received nearly 40,000 likes.

“Halloweennnn 🎃 👻 🏀,” Oaks wrote in the caption.

Fans praised the costume in the comments, with one calling it “iconic” and another calling it a “slay.”

Cunningham’s layup comment, however, struck a different tone than the Halloween fun.

The WNBA has long faced criticism about its shooting percentages compared to the NBA.

League-wide field-goal percentages in the WNBA have historically been lower than those in the NBA, a gap that analysts attribute to differences in athleticism, defensive schemes and the shorter shot clock used in the women’s game.

Cunningham’s blunt language — including the expletive — made the remark stand out even among candid player interviews.

Fox News included the quote in its Thursday “Nightcaps” column, a regular roundup of sports and culture items.

The same column also covered Curt Cignetti’s criticism of ESPN’s coverage of the College Football Playoff rankings.

“SEC gets a lot of love from ESPN, you know, and all their writers that they don’t technically pay, but march to their drum,” Cignetti said.

“So, and that’s why you see all these SEC teams up there, you know, and some good two-loss teams from the Big Ten, not quite as high.”

The column also described an incident in which Luka Doncic berated a fan and had him ejected from a game after judging the fan’s pass to a referee as too aggressive.

Cunningham’s layup remark has not resulted in any known disciplinary action from the WNBA or the Indiana Fever.

The league has not issued a public statement about the comment.