Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham fined $500 for criticizing refs on TikTok
30, Sep 2025The original TikTok video featured Cunningham lip-synching to song lyrics, saying, "Stupid. Or is it, slow? Or maybe, useless?" with the words "@ some refs" on the video.
July 24, 2025, 12:25 PM EDT / Source: The Associated Press
Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham has been fined $500 for a TikTok post criticizing the league's referees, she wrote on X.
The original TikTok featured Cunningham lip-synching to song lyrics, saying, "Stupid. Or is it, slow? Or maybe, useless?" with the words "@ some refs" on the video.
The TikTok was posted on July 18 and has since garnered 1.3 million views.
"I got fined $500 for this TikTok," Cunningham tweeted Wednesday, with laughing face emojis. "idk why this is funny to me... like ok you got it bud! Cause there's not more important things to be worried about with our league right now."
Officiating has become a contentious issue in the league this season, with many players and coaches criticizing referees for inconsistent calls. Some of the most high-profile instances have surrounded calls involving Fever star Caitlin Clark, Cunningham's teammate.
"Everybody's getting better — except the officials," Fever head coach Stephanie White said last month. "So we got to find a way to remedy it. I mean, you've heard every coach talk about it, so I don't know what the answer is."
Cunningham has been in the headlines recently for appearing to be Clark's protector. She was ejected after a physical altercation with Connecticut's Jacy Sheldon last month following a scuffle between Sheldon and Clark earlier in the game. Sheldon was also ejected.
