Las Vegas Aces superstar A’ja Wilson wasn’t punished after confronting an Indiana Fever fan in Game 2 of the teams’ first-round playoff series this week.
Sophie Cunningham, one of the most outspoken members of the Fever, expressed on her podcast with co-host and basketball trainer Drew Hanlen, “No Hesitation,” that, “if you want to get technical,” Wilson’s behavior “could have caused for suspension.”
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“But she’s like the LeBron James of our league, and, so, of course they’re not going to suspend her,” Cunningham said on an episode released Saturday, two days after Indiana lost a winner-take-all Game 3 to Wilson’s Aces.
Cunningham emphasized in that podcast appearance that Wilson — a 30-year-old four-time WNBA MVP and three-time WNBA champion — must “grow up.”
Midway through the fourth quarter of Game 2, which the Fever won 99-89 at home on Tuesday, Wilson tried to fight through a screen set by Cunningham. They got tangled up, and Cunningham hit the deck.
Cunningham was called for a foul, much to the dismay of Fever fans, including one sitting behind the basket at Indianapolis’ Gainbridge Field house who pointed at Wilson. That motion, along with what the fan said, angered Wilson.
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She intensely approached the fan and said her piece before she was pulled back by teammates and an official.
Wilson was assessed a technical foul for unsportsmanlike conduct, but she remained in the game and ultimately wasn’t fined or suspended by the W.
Although the fan was temporarily removed from his seat, he later was allowed to return. The Fever said in a statement after the game that the fan didn’t violate their rules and that the organization wouldn’t be investigating the matter further.
Wilson lamented her tech postgame, but she didn’t regret her actions.
“If I see a man come at me, taking steps toward me and pointing at me, I don’t give a damn what you said. I don’t give a damn how you said it, the tone, that is unacceptable,” Wilson said after the game. “You don’t know me to step towards me and point at me. I’m not for that s*** at all. … That there is unacceptable. How he gets back in the game because they said he didn’t do anything, of course he did.
“It’s just certain things that I’m not going to allow anymore, because it’s just unacceptable. You don’t know me at all to come and step towards me and point at me and say anything.”
Cunningham clearly had a different perspective on the incident.
“Here’s my thing,” she told Hanlen. “Us women in sport — I’m going to say just women in sport because that’s my occupation, and I have lived this — we yell from the rooftops that we want equality, that we want to be treated like the men, that we want all this stuff and we deserve all these things. And we do. We do deserve it. But if you’re asking for all these fans to come, and you have new fans who are real sports fans, and they come and do something that a sports fan would probably do if you’re on the opposing team — and then we’re going to go for ’em for just pointing saying that you fouled?”
“Like, grow up. What are we doing? We ask all these things, and then once people come out and support us, we get mad, and it’s inappropriate, and then us athletes need to be treated better, and these fans need to be more supportive and not say anything negative.”
Cunningham, who this season was at the center of WNBA controversy after speaking about transgender women in sports, continued: “I can say this because I, hands down, have probably got s*** on the entire season, maybe two seasons, [where] people [are] coming after who I am, my character, what I stand for, X, Y, Z. I could go on and on. And I’ve heard the worst of the worst. It’s part of it. It’s part of it. Who cares? Who cares? You should be grateful to be on this platform. You should be grateful to be playing basketball for a living and inspiring the next generation.
“If you really want sports fans, then you’re going to get sports fans. And that includes pointing, that includes getting yelled at, probably be getting called names. With all the praise and all the great things that come with it, you also got to look at the negative side.”
Cunningham believes the Indiana fan in question didn’t do anything wrong.
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She also said that the Fever wanted Wilson to play in Game 3, during which the forward racked up 36 points, 10 rebounds and two blocks in a 94-83 series-clinching victory.
“Of course, we wanted her to play,” Cunningham said. “I think that makes for good basketball. … And I don’t think it would have been, if we would have won and she wouldn’t have been there, I don’t think it would have been fair. I think we would have gotten a lot of backlash from that.
“But I think for someone pointing and saying that the foul was on you, grow up. I’m over it. Grow up.”
Also on Saturday, amid Fever exit interviews, team general manager Amber Cox made a statement about the perception of the Indiana fan base.
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“The attacks on our fan base have no basis in reality, and they need to stop, especially with members of the media. … I’m talking about media who have never been to a game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse,” Cox said. “Every organization in the league, every organization throughout professional sports all the way down to youth REC leagues have to deal with occasional bad behavior from spectators.
“And anyone who crosses the line in an arena or online needs to be held accountable. I want to be really clear about that. There is a line, and people need to be held accountable if they cross it. But here’s the fact: We did not have one fan pointed out by a player who violated the WNBA code of conduct this season, not one fan was removed from a game. We take this really seriously, and that is backed up by our security stats and the lived experiences of countless fans who we host at every game.”
She added: “Our fans love this team. They’re going to cheer, they’re going to boo and sometimes they might point. It’s a home-court advantage for a reason. And it’s the same for the Pacers. And all of that is within the code of conduct.”
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