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Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham has cheekily suggested she may look into starting a GoFundMe to help pay for the fines she racks up for the WNBA. Cunningham made the comments on social media following Minnesota Lynx star Naphessa Collier’s public torching of league commissioner Cathy Engelbert.
The 29-year-old Cunningham was fined by the WNBA multiple times over the course of the 2025 season, mainly for comments/videos she made about the league’s officiating — which was a huge part of Collier’s scathing indictment of the WNBA in her bombshell prepared statement on Tuesday, September 30.
In August, she was fined by the league for comments she made about how rookie Paige Bueckers was being officiated. She was also fined another $500 for a TikTok video that was critical of the WNBA’s refs, and another $1,500 for comments she made on her podcast.
Sophie Cunningham publicly debates launching a GoFundMe to pay for all of the fines she gets from criticizing the WNBA
honestly, I’m starting to like this idea. https://t.co/Ct9oHYoiz8
— Sophie Cunningham (@sophaller) September 30, 2025
In her searing end-of-season comments on Tuesday, Collier exposed Engelbert for saying that stars such as Caitlin Clark should be “on their knees” thanking the WNBA for the platform they’ve provided.
“I also asked [Engelbert during a discussion earlier this year] how she planned to fix the fact that players like Caitlin [Clark], Angel [Reese], and Paige [Bueckers], who are clearly driving massive revenue for the league, are making so little for their first four years,” Collier explained.
“[Elgelbert’s] response was, ‘Caitlin should be grateful she makes $16 million off the court, because without the platform that the WNBA gives her, she wouldn’t make anything.’ And in that same conversation, [Engelbert] told me, ‘Players should be on their knees, thanking their lucky stars, for the media right deal that I got them.’ That’s the mentality driving our league from the top.”
On Instagram, Cunningham took further shots at Engelbert, calling her the most “delusional leader” that the WNBA has ever had.
“People only know Cathy because of C [Collier]…. She’s the most delusional leader our league has seen,” Cunningham wrote in one comment before following it up by saying, “AND IT SHOULDN’T EVER BE ABOUT OUR COMMISSIONER IN THE FIRST PLACE.”
SOPHIE 😭😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/eDGMeSly62
— correlation (@nosyone4) September 30, 2025
Prior to joining the Indiana Fever for the 2025 season, Cunningham spent the first six years of her career with the Phoenix Mercury after being drafted by the team in the 2nd round of the 2019 WNBA Draft.
Prior to also being sidelined with an MCL injury, Cunningham appeared in 30 games for the Fever — who came just one win short of the WNBA Finals despite missing Cunningham and superstar Caitlin Clark — and averaged 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists per game.