Sophie Cunningham is having quite the 2025.

Her name has been buzzing for good and bad things for the past few months.

The buzz surrounding her started after she was alleged to have had an affair with married Suns and Mercury CEO Josh Bartelstein, according to a lawsuit.

Gene Traylor, a Suns employee and former director of safety, security, and risk management, alleges he told Bartelstein that Cornelius Craig, the franchise’s vice president of security and risk management, had been telling people that Bartelstein allegedly was having an affair with Cunningham.

That news would eventually die out.

Then last month, a skirmish between Caitlin Clark and multiple members of the Sun led to Sophie Cunningham grabbing Sun guard Jacy Sheldon by her neck and throwing her to the ground.

 

She was ejected from the game. She gained thousands, if not millions, of new fans because of her actions.

More recently, Cunningham made it clear she wasn’t eager to visit two of the league’s newest expansion teams when they begin play in the coming years.

“It’s a hard decision-making situation, but, man, I don’t know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or [Cleveland],” Cunningham said Tuesday morning ahead of shootaround for the Commissioner’s Cup final.

Sophie Cunningham Gets Called Maga Barbie

Over the past year, Sophie Cunningham has become a liked and disliked figure within the WNBA fan base.

She has also been accused of being a supporter of President Donald Trump.

Because of that, fans have started to refer to her as “MAGA Barbie.”

“Mind you, maga barbie is saying this from Indiana 🤡,” one fan said.

“These cities are dragging MAGA Barbie,” a second fan stated.

“The thought of MAGA barbie getting booed while playing in Detroit if she’s still even in the league by then,” a third fan said of Sophie Cunningham.

Brittney Griner Finally Breaks Her Silence Over Alleged Caitlin Clark Comments That The WNBA Refused To Investigate

Brittney Griner speaking to reporterBrittney Griner (Photo via Twitter)
WNBA star Brittney Griner was at the center of a new debate over what she allegedly said in a game against basketball phenom Caitlin Clark.

The Atlanta Dream center found herself at the center of social media controversy last month when some fans thought she disparaged Indiana Fever star guard Caitlin Clark upon fouling out.

The game’s broadcast focused on an upset Griner saying something as she returned to the Dream bench after fouling out of the game. While there’s no audio of this moment, some who tried to read Griner’s lips thought she called Clark a “trash f–king white girl.”

However, there’s no proof of Griner saying those actual words since others thought she stated something else.

It took weeks for someone to finally get a quote from her, and she provided much of nothing.

Brittney Griner was asked about this moment before her team’s June 15 game against the Washington Mystics and said, “I remember fouling out, being mad. I remember fouling out on, I believe it was [Natasha] Howard driving to the basket. They said I put my hand in.”

WNBA Chooses Not To Investigate Brittney Griner

Griner Drops F-Bomb, Apologizes Amid Clark Slur RowBrittney Griner (Photo By Dale Zanine-Imagn Images)
Moments before the conclusion of the Indiana Fever’s 81-76 victory over the Dream at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta weeks ago, cameras seemingly caught Atlanta Dream star center Brittney Griner labeling Caitlin Clark “trash” before calling her a “f***ing white girl” in frustration over a foul on Natasha Howard.

The clip of Griner speaking on the bench, lacking context, spread on social media and went viral.

Griner, who won a gold medal for Team USA at the Summer Olympics in Paris in 2024, essentially got aw@y with whatever came out of her mouth because the league basically ignored the controversy.

This incident is not the only time Griner vocalized her frustrations this season. Following another game, she stormed off mid-interview, yelling at the referees to “be f—ing better.