RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Sophie Cunningham came to the defense of Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White after recent comments garnered a lot of controversy.
White came under fire for seemingly defending DiJonai Carrington’s aggressive foul on Cunningham over the weekend.
Prior to the game against the New York Liberty, White made a statement clarifying her stance. And now, Cunningham has addressed the situation.
Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images
Caitlin Clark and Sophie Cunningham defend Stephanie White
Sophie Cunningham spoke after the Fever’s win over the New York Liberty, and discussed Stephanie White’s statement.
Cunningham noted that she and White are on good terms, and she holds no grudge against her or DiJonai Carrington for the foul, and accused outside forces of trying to distract the Fever.
“I think there has been a lot of outside noise. But our locker room is good, and that’s what it is to be an Indiana Fever.
“On the staff, as a player, you know that when you come here, that’s going to be one of the things that is going to try to distract you.
“But our locker room in there, it’s tight. We have each other’s backs. Coach loves us. She didn’t see the clip.
“At the end of the day, she didn’t see the clip, and you know what, DiJonai is a h— of a player. She’s a great defender. She coached for, I don’t know how many years, up in Connecticut. So give her her flowers, and she didn’t see it. That’s okay.
“Me and Steph are great. Steph is great with all of us. It’s really the outside noise that is trying to distract us, but we’re good.
“I really don’t care anymore. I’m trying to keep the main thing the main thing. I think we played an excellent game today against the Liberty… That’s what is important. We’re trying to focus on the big picture here, and we really needed this win. That is our focus…”
As for Caitlin Clark, she empathised with the backlash her head coach faced, and admitted that hearing the Indiana Fever fanbase boo the coach made her sick, a sentiment at which Cunningham nodded in agreement.
It’s good to see both Clark and Cunningham, two of the faces of their team and leaders in the locker room, come out in vocal defence of their head coach.
Cunningham, in particular, handled herself very well, acknowledging how the issue had been lionised by groups looking to divide the team, and expressed her support for her head coach.
Hopefully, this issue can now be put in the rearview mirror, and the Fever can focus on making a playoff push ahead of the WNBA postseason beginning.
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