During her third episode of the “Show Me Something” podcast on Aug. 13, Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham expressed her ongoing frustration with the WNBA’s officiating inconsistencies, which have affected not only the Fever, but the league as a whole throughout the 2025 season.
Following Tuesday’s heartbreaking 81-80 loss against the Dallas Wings, which saw a multitude of mind-boggling and head-scratching calls from the officials, Cunningham used her platform to point out what she deemed favorable calls that Dallas’ rookie guard Paige Bueckers received throughout the game.
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Bueckers, who is a front-runner for the WNBA’s Rookie of the Year award alongside Washington Mystics’ center Sonia Citron, drew more than a few debatable foul calls that Cunningham felt were whistled exclusively in favor of the former No. 1 overall draft pick.
“I love Paige to death, do not get me wrong. I think she’s a hell of a player and would love to play with her one day, but those refs were giving her every freaking whistle last night. Like, you literally couldn’t touch her. And that [explicit] is so annoying to me,” Cunningham said. “If you’re gonna do that, then give it to our guards. Like, I just hate the inconsistency.”
Cunningham continued by admitting that Bueckers will get some whistles through her rookie status, but also stated that the former Connecticut star should not be drawing the “ticky-tacky” foul calls like she was on Tuesday night.
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“We know she’s a good rookie, and she’s gonna get some whistles, but to get the treatment she got last night was crazy,” Cunningham added.
When co-host West Wilson compared Bueckers’ questionable drawn fouls to the kind whistles that Tom Brady or Patrick Mahomes would occasionally benefit from, Cunningham stated that Bueckers is on track to be one of the league’s iconic stars, but is not at the point in her career where she has earned reputation calls.
“She’s already going to be a GOAT. Like, she’s going to be a Hall of Famer. Everyone knows that she’s a fricking hell of a player, but getting some of those whistles already? Oh my. I couldn’t,” Cunningham replied.
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While Cunningham’s comments were significantly less aggressive than Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White’s postgame accusation of a “double standard” set by the officials from Tuesday’s game, the sixth-year guard has quickly become a fan favorite for not holding back her opinions on the league’s officiating inconsistencies.
So far, Cunningham has been fined a total of $2,000 for speaking out against the WNBA and its officials, with her most recent penalty costing her $1,500 as a result of her July 30 comments during the first episode of the “Show Me Something” podcast.
Whether or not Cunningham will be penalized a third time for voicing her frustrations about the WNBA’s officiating remains to be seen.
The Fever will look to bounce back on Friday evening at Gainbridge Fieldhouse against the Washington Mystics. The game is scheduled to tip off at 6:30 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ION.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: Sophie Cunningham slams WNBA refs’ ‘annoying’ Paige Bueckers whistle
