By Juan Paolo David
Sophie Cunningham made headlines earlier this week for her comments about Cleveland and Detroit getting WNBA expansion teams. Some fans erupted online after she got into a physical play with LA Sparks guard Julia Vanloo on Saturday.Late in the first quarter, Cunningham and Vanloo dove for a loose ball on the floor. Rickea Jackson joined the scramble and attempted to grab the ball, with Vanloo appearing to wrap her arm around the Indiana Fever forward’s neck. Officials called a jump ball. No scuffle followed, and both players laughed it off after getting back on their feet.The notorious satirical page NBA Centel on X, shared a clip of the play and described it as Cunningham getting “choked out” by Vanloo. The post was meant to stir comments — humorous or serious — depending on the viewer’s perspective.Here is the video of the play.WNBA fans commented on the post, with some expressing their feelings about Cunningham’s remarks regarding Cleveland and Detroit. Sophie Cunningham told reporters she would rather play for a team in Miami than in the two cities.Here are some of the top comments.Awesomeheat25 @Awesomehea25LINKThat’s what she gets for talking about Cleveland and Detroit. C White â“‹🇺🇲🇺🇦 @CyntWhiteLINKWhew….. That could have ended badly. SportsHub @Sprts_HubLINKShe smiling afterwards bc she liked it lolAndy froemel @FroemelAndyLINKJulie Vanloo is so lucky Sophie Cunningham is in a good mood today. She could have kicked her ass if she wanted to. Lanataylor @lanataylorxoLINKshe was smiling right after? oh she’s crazy CRAZY 😭🙏ShadowDragon @DJprankster23LINKKIrifuda clutch .. lol at least she didn’t take it seriously , must be that disciplineIn addition to her comments about Cleveland and Detroit, Cunningham has made headlines over the past few weeks. She famously got into a scuffle with the Connecticut Sun after a hard foul on Jacy Sheldon, retaliating after a few physical plays on Caitlin Clark earlier in the game.What did Sophie Cunningham say about Cleveland and Detroit?What did Sophie Cunningham say about Cleveland and Detroit? (Photo: IMAGN)The WNBA announced on Monday that three expansion teams will join later in the decade. Cleveland will make its debut in 2028, followed by Detroit in 2029 and Philadelphia in 2030. Reporters interviewed multiple players after the news, including Sophie Cunningham, who made some snide comments about the first two cities.”I’m not so sure what the thought process is there, but at the end of the day, you want to make sure that you’re not expanding our league too fast,” Cunningham said, according to the Associated Press. “I think that that’s also another thing. It’s kind of a hard decision-making situation. But man, I don’t know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or (Cleveland).”Both cities responded to Cunningham, with Detroit calling itself a sports town, while Cleveland uploaded a video of Caitlin Clark praising the city.