Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham is clearing the air and setting the record straight in terms of where she stands with Connecticut Sun guard Bria Hartley. During Sunday’s game, Hartley fell into Cunningham’s leg, ultimately suffering a right knee injury. It would later be revealed that she tore her MCL and would be out for the remainder of the 2025 season.
It was clear that Cunningham’s mother, Paula, held Hartley responsible for the injury after she shared a scathing post on X.
"Hartley is a disgruntled player having trouble everywhere she goes; she’s plain mean and plays out of control,” she wrote.
However, Cunningham would later ask her mother to remove the post. She revealed this on a recent episode of her brand new podcast, Show Me Something. She mentioned that she believes Hartley did not intend to cause the injury and that she considers her a friend.
"There was no ill intent. I think it was a basketball play. I was just in the wrong spot at the wrong time; she fell," Cunningham said. "There’s no way she would go in there and intentionally try to hurt me. I have nothing but love for Bria, and I even told my mom, because she tweeted something, I was like, ‘No, mom! I get it, but I promise you that Bria and I are super cool and she would never try to hurt me.’"
Cunningham acknowledged that she hopes that online hate directed at Harley will end.
"There are some girls that I think might, but she wouldn’t do that. I have nothing but love, and I hope people stop giving Bria some heat because I don’t think she meant to do that at all,” she said.
It’s been a challenging season for the Fever with many injuries.
