Connecticut Sun Coach Rips Into Fever’s Sophie Cunningham For Her “Disrespectful” Actions During Heated Game

Sophie Cunningham made things messy late in Tuesday night’s matchup between the Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun, and the postgame fireworks didn’t stop at the buzzer.

With under a minute left and the Fever trailing big, tensions exploded when Cunningham brought Connecticut’s Jacy Sheldon to the floor on a hard foul. Sheldon jumped up, exchanged words with Cunningham, and officials ejected both players after a brief confrontation. The scuffle followed a series of physical plays that had already fired up both benches, and Connecticut head coach Rachid Meziane quickly voiced his frustration.

Meziane Doesn’t Hold Back

Connecticut Sun head coach Rachid Meziane (Photo By Rafael Suanes-Imagn Images)

Meziane aimed direct criticism at Cunningham after the game. He called her foul “stupid” and “disrespectful.” He questioned her choice to escalate things. The coach pointed out the game was already out of reach. He believed her actions were unnecessary and reckless. Meziane didn’t hold back in expressing his frustration.

“When you are winning a game by 17 points and you doing this stupid foul, this is just disrespectful,” Meziane told reporters. “I don’t know how Jacy and Lindsay [Allen] got ejected from the game when they did nothing.”

Earlier in the third quarter, Sheldon committed a dirty foul on Caitlin Clark, which stirred up frustrations on both sides. Marina Mabrey added fuel to the fire when she shoved Clark, drawing loud reactions from the crowd and online.

Meziane, however, defended Mabrey’s actions and applauded the officials for not ejecting her.

“She just tried to be between two players,” he said. “The ref has to do their job to clean the game, and make sure that the best team won the game and not just who is more physical.”

Fever head coach Stephanie White, on the other hand, criticized the officiating crew. She said the officials failed to control the game before it escalated.

“I think it was pretty obvious that stuff was brewing,” White said. “When the officials don’t get control of the ball game, when they allow that stuff to happen… this is what happens.

Both coaches voiced strong opinions, but with different targets. While Meziane pointed fingers at Cunningham and the Fever’s approach, White called out the officiating for letting the game unravel. Either way, Tuesday’s matchup left more than just the scoreboard in its wake.