Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston said two weeks ago that if there is one thing the WNBA can improve from last season, it is the officiating. It looks like league officials may be responding well, based on Sophie Cunningham’s recent comments.
Cunningham was once very critical of the referees. She was fined $1,500 last season for blasting the refs, saying they did not know what they were doing.
“If I was a ref, I know I would mess up all the time. Like, I’m not saying that your job is easy, but when it is a simple call right in front of your face multiple times, what are you doing? What are you doing?” she said on her podcast.
She was also punished for a TikTok post in which she lip-synced to a song by Sabrina Carpenter featuring the lyrics, “Stupid. Or is it slow? Or maybe useless?” with “@ some refs” in the caption.
Doug McSchooler/Special to IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Now, she is changing her tune about WNBA referees. Cunningham appeared on her very own “Show Me Something” podcast, where she gave credit where it was due.
The topic came up while she and the host were discussing a block and celebration she made during a game against the Seattle Storm. She said it is very rare for her to get a block since that is not one of her strengths.
Cunningham then made an extended comment about how officiating has improved and how different it is this season compared to last year.
“I hope people quote me on this,” she said.
“I think that is a good thing that they are calling everything because it is making us players and teams be like, okay, we need to stop fouling or we need to be better," she said.
The 29-year-old guard credited the league and its teams for their collaborative effort to improve officiating.
There is a lot more for Cunningham and Fever fans to be happy about. The Fever are currently tied for second in the league with a 4–2 record and have won their last three games.
