What the Fever-Sun dustup tell us about the WNBA

Odds are, you saw the Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun dust-up last week. 

For those who didn’t: Fever guard Sophie Cunningham committed a flagrant foul on Sun guard Jacy Sheldon with 46 seconds left to play, leading to a shoving match between the two teams. This followed an earlier incident when Sheldon appeared to poke Caitlin Clark in the eye and Marina Mabrey bumped Clark to the floor. 

The whole incident and its aftermath dominated the online conversation the day after the game. Players and coaches used it as an opportunity to share their frustrations with WNBA reffing. Fans inevitably took sides. And Sophie Cunningham gained close to 1 million social followers.  

Now that a week has passed and the dust has (mostly) settled, I’d like to zoom out and share why I think this moment mattered.

1. Yes, this is part of going mainstream

A few years ago, this dust-up would have been just that: a scuffle that was forgotten as soon as the final buzzer sounded. But what we saw last week was a full-blown cultural moment, with seemingly everyone in the sports world chiming in. 

It might not be the moment WNBA stakeholders imagined when they talked about the league taking strides. But believe it or not, this is what it looks like for a sport to go mainstream. 

We want fans to care – and this is what it looks like when they do. They argue. They debate. They say crazy things online. 

We don’t have to celebrate these moments to admit that they’re inevitably part of sports. If a controversial moment like this wasn’t drawing attention, the W would be in serious trouble.

2. The Caitlin Clark “halo effect” is real — and it compounds

I don’t want to rehash the debate about how much credit Clark deserves for the WNBA’s momentum. But here’s what I will say: people are still underestimating the “halo effect” and how much other players are benefitting from Clark’s spotlight — which in turn gives them a spotlight to further pass along. 

Just look at Sophie Cunningham. Those 1 million new social followers could literally be worth millions in brand deals. 

Controversy is obviously one way to draw a massive amount of eyeballs quickly. But it’s not the only way. 

Below is a screenshot showing Google search interest in Kelsey Mitchell from when she was drafted by the Fever in 2018 to today.

Notice anything? 

Search traffic shoots up when Clark is drafted last April, peaks during last year’s playoffs, goes down in the offseason, but is now up and to the right with the season underway.

Kelsey has also more than tripled her own Instagram following since Clark joined the Fever, according to Social Blade.

We had the chance to work with Kelsey at last year’s WNBA All-Star game and this year’s Final Four — and we saw firsthand just how popular she is. 

Don’t get me wrong. Kelsey is where she’s at today because of her hard work and talent. She’s an All-Star, a former No. 2 pick, and one of the greatest college players of all-time.

Caitlin Clark isn’t solely responsible for the extra attention she’s getting. But the superstar spotlight accelerates celebrity in a way that nothing else does.

It’s that spotlight which can turn an on-court scuffle into a cultural flashpoint — and introduce an All-Star talent to a whole new audience of fans. 

3. Digital media is where the culture lives

Cunningham’s sudden follower bump — 700,000+ on TikTok, 240,000+ on Instagram — didn’t come from SportsCenter coverage or postgame interviews. 

It came from TikToks, tweets, comment section debates, and fans meme-ifying her as “the Enforcer.”

This is why I continue to stress the importance of digital media and why it’s wrong to treat TV as the engine of this space. 

The Fever have had massive TV audiences all year long. But it was the social coverage and conversation that catapulted Cunningham into this next tier of celebrity. 

Regardless of how you feel about Cunningham’s actions or last week’s scuffle, don’t let the meta-lessons get lost in all the noise. More and more WNBA players are being lifted into national consciousness. The spotlight given to superstars helps ignite the action — but it’s social media where these moments are taking on a life of their own, creating an ecosystem where the conversation never turns off. 

What this all adds up to

Star power is creating the surface area. Digital media is accelerating the storylines. And WNBA culture is expanding far beyond the broadcast window.

Last week, a late-game foul became a viral flashpoint, a celebrity accelerator, and a case study in how fandom works today. Not because someone planned it, but because the WNBA is finally operating in an ecosystem where things catch. 

Today, when something happens — whether it’s a highlight, a hard foul, or a postgame quote — it doesn’t just stay in the box score. It ricochets across social, picks up commentary from fans and media, and becomes something bigger: a self-propelling story in which everyone chimes in. 

Last week’s moment mattered because it showed the WNBA isn’t just producing games — it’s producing discourse. And in today’s sports world, the most valuable leagues aren’t just watched, but lived in. They have a participatory, rather than a top-down culture. A culture that’s messy, reactive and layered, but also dynamic and open-ended. 

That’s the online culture the WNBA has built. And it’s that same online culture that’s going to further its growth. 

ICYMI:

I chatted with Forbes about why moving past the “purely celebratory” phase of women’s sports coverage is crucial to growing this space. 

I also joined The Spread podcast to talk about where women’s sports are today and how we need to build.