WNBA player Sophie Cunningham just said the league fined her $500 for a TikTok. And social media? On fire. The fine has ignited heated discussion about free speech, accountability from referees, and what the WNBA is choosing to prioritize.
The TikTok That Cost Her $500
Cunningham’s now-viral TikTok featured audio from Sabrina Carpenter’s popular song “Manchild,” specifically the line:
“Stupid? Or is it slow? Maybe it’s useless.”
That might have passed unnoticed as just another tough one-liner if not for the caption that came with it:
“@ some refs”
That is all. No names called, no direct accusations, no F-bombs. Just a friendly little dig at the quality of refereeing. And that was sufficient to bring out disciplinary action from WNBA management.
Cunningham’s Response: Pure Sarcasm
“I got fined $500 for this TikTok 🤣🤣,” she tweeted on Wednesday. “Idk why this is funny to me… like ok 👍🏼 you got it bud! Cause there’s not more important things to be worried about with our league right now.”
Cunningham was heavy on sarcasm, wagging his finger at what the majority of fans perceive as misplaced priority on the behalf of the WNBA. The implication? That the league has more urgent fish to fry like marketing, player salaries, and increased viewership instead of keeping tabs on the types of TikToks featuring meme music and emojis.
Social Media Unleashes Support (and Their Wallets)
The second the tweet hit, the replies section became a fan-based fundraising campaign. Cunningham didn’t start a GoFundMe, but she could have because WNBA Twitter was willing to pay for what many are calling a ridiculous fine.
Here’s what people were saying:
“My hot take is players across leagues should be allowed to call out shitty reffing without fear of retaliation, like bad reffing needs to be held accountable.”
“Lmk where to send the cash app.”
“Sophie lemme pay that for you.”
“Let’s get this viral because she didn’t lie at all.”
“Send me your Zelle and I’ll take care of it.”
A few fans even offered to foot the fine themselves, offering the fine not as retribution but as a badge of honor for calling out what so many WNBA watchers perceive as contradictory and sometimes enraging officiating.
Backlash and Boundaries: What Can Players Say?
One tweet, however, did get attention, perhaps for the wrong reasons:
“Ok maybe they’re right pay them what they are owed ???? this league is r*tarded”
This comment was quickly called out as ableist, but also repeated the underlying annoyance shared by fans. They’re upset that players are being silenced regarding officiating.
Another fan gave a critique of the criticism itself:
“You probs got fined bc the ‘diss’ to the refs was so bad & boring… like lol, if you gonna talk shit say it with your chest, enforcer…”
Even in jest, this posting is pointing to something real. Game players are tiptoeing around a hair’s breadth line that, when crossed even lightly through the use of a popular TikTok clip, leads to fines.
