When Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham dragged an opposing player to the floor during the final minute of a physical game in June, it did more than get her ejected from that WNBA game—it propelled her into an entirely new level of fame. The New York Times reports that Cunningham, 29, started on this trajectory after throwing the hard foul in retaliation for the Phoenix Mercury's aggressive play against her teammate, Caitlin Clark. Within days, Cunningham went from having a few hundred thousand followers on Instagram and TikTok to more than a million and was cheered as Clark's enforcer in a league with mixed feelings about her. "I didn't do that for clickbait," Cunningham says in an interview. "I stand up for my teammates."
The timing was perfect for a breakout. Hailing from Columbia, Mo., Cunningham was drafted by the Phoenix Mercury in 2019, then switched agents last offseason as the WNBA's popularity ballooned. By February, she had been traded to the Fever—the league's hottest team thanks to Clark—and the incident with the Sun early this summer turned her into a marketing goldmine. Her agency pitched her to brands as a "protector," and Ring quickly signed her for a TikTok ad. Deals with Arby's and others followed, and she leaned into the persona with brash TikToks and unapologetic soundbites. This week, she got into an online spat with sports analyst Skip Bayless, who accused her of being a "clout chaser," notes Sports Illustrated. In response, she accused him of using her name as click-bait.
Bayless' comment speaks to how Cunningham's popularity has expanded far beyond sports. Opposing teams' rough treatment of Clark (who has since ended her season due to injury) has become a rallying point for conservative pundits who claim she's targeted because she's white in a league that Forbes reports is more than 60% Black. Cunningham, blonde and physical, became a right-wing heroine for defending Clark—and some began calling her "MAGA Barbie," a nickname that stuck. Although Cunningham acknowledges she follows conservative social media accounts, she insists she's politically "right in the middle."
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And while her season ended early with knee surgery, her star power has only grown. Cunningham now hosts a podcast with Bravo star West Wilson, has multiple brand deals that dwarf her $100,000 salary, and is eyeing life after basketball. "I think this is going to open up maybe what I want to do when the ball stops bouncing," she says.
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