Jaycee Sheldon’s viral takedown by Sophie Cunningham didn’t happen under the radar—it happened with 16,284 fans packed into Indiana’s Gainbridge Fieldhouse, under the glare of national attention, and three referees—Blanca Burns, Jenna Reneau, and Ashley Gloss—struggling to hold the game together. The chaos that unfolded on the floor spilled instantly onto livestreams, comment sections, and postgame soundbites. And while Sophie Cunningham’s takedown of Jacy Sheldon lit the match, it was one Connecticut rookie’s mic-drop on Caitlin Clark fans on veteran Marina Mabrey’s Instagram that poured gasoline on the fire by calling: “Y’all are delusional… y’all need to be in a psychiatric ward.”
While some fans and even celebrities praised Sophie Cunningham’s bear-hug takedown on Sheldon in the fourth quarter as hard-nosed defense, Saniya Rivers saw it in a completely different light. And when she joined Mabrey on an Instagram Live, she wasn’t about to let anyone reframe the play as just hustle.
When Rivers read a comment in the chat that said, “The fight was forced,” she didn’t just brush it off.
Mabrey tried to move on: “Okay, let’s move on.”
But Rivers wouldn’t have it: “No, let’s not.”
She made her point emphatically. “If somebody, less than a minute to go, you taking a layup thinking shit sweet, and somebody comes for your neck? The ball is extended here. Somebody come for your neck? What are we talking about? Just know y’all are delusional. Just know y’all are sick in the head.”
Then she doubled down: “Y’all need to be in a psychiatric ward. Just know that. Just know that.”
Mabrey, who had her own moment of controversy in the same game, chuckled and responded to the chat, saying that fans were now saying she should be the one admitted.
Saniya Rivers was on Marina’s live talking about the Jacy Sheldon/Sophie Cunningham situation lmao she’s too real pic.twitter.com/pHVJBXk354
— (@24hxn) June 19, 2025
That moment likely referred to the third-quarter sequence when Sheldon appeared to poke Caitlin Clark in the eye on a drive. Clark pushed Sheldon away, and Mabrey, coming to her teammate’s defense, shoved Clark to the hardwood. That earned technical fouls for Clark and Tina Charles, and scrutiny for Mabrey.
Initially, officials stated the shove didn’t qualify as a Flagrant-2. But that didn’t hold up. According to the Associated Press, the WNBA has since upgraded Mabrey’s shove to a Flagrant-2—a decision that aligns with just how physical and emotionally charged the Connecticut–Indiana clashes have become.
Though the game took place on June 18, Rivers’ words struck a nerve not just with fans, but within the league’s broader conversation about enforcement, retaliation, and fairness in officiating. Her live reaction echoed the sentiment shared—albeit more diplomatically—by Fever head coach Stephanie White. When asked postgame if Cunningham’s foul on Sheldon could be interpreted as “enforcer behavior,” White didn’t entertain the idea:
“I view it as a flagrant foul.”
In a way, Rivers’ unfiltered comments merely echoed White’s more diplomatic frustration. But hers came with a sharper edge and a Gen Z fluency for livestream mic drops.
“Like, just know that,” Rivers chuckled again at the end, driving the point home with the same bite she brought to the court.
Sophie Cunningham’s Flagrant Foul Boosts Her Popularity and Jersey Sales
The bite is justified, considering Cunningham earned more than she lost. Yes, Sophie Cunningham may have walked away with a $400 fine and a Flagrant 2 on her name, but she also walked into something more lucrative—popularity.
In fact the fallout from the June 18th matchup was financially negligible. Publicly? Skyrocketing visibility.
Wanna know how?
Jun 17, 2025; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) in the second half against the Connecticut Sun at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images
Ahead of the game, Cunningham had around 307,000 followers on TikTok. Just days after her hard foul on Jacy Sheldon—and after she publicly backed Caitlin Clark—those numbers surged toward 800,000. Her Instagram follower count also spiked by 50,000. Fanatics reported that Cunningham’s Fever jersey had sold out by Thursday afternoon, even redirecting fans to create custom jerseys with her name and No. 8.
Google Trends reflected the same explosion. Searches for “Sophie Cunningham jersey” reached a full 100% interest—the platform’s highest possible measure—for the first time in 2025. Most of that search traffic came from Indiana and Iowa, two states where Clark’s fandom burns brightest.
Cunningham’s controversial moment became a kind of marketing goldmine. And as veteran columnist Jason Whitlock aptly noted, “Popularity was and still is available to any WNBA player who backs Caitlin Clark. Angel Reese would be three times more popular if she chose a friendly rivalry with Clark rather than an adversarial one.”
Compare that to Connecticut’s Marina Mabrey, who was also fined $400 after her third-quarter shove on Clark, now upgraded to a Flagrant 2, according to ESPN’s Alexa Philippou. She, too, will face disciplinary action, but without the same bounce in public favor.
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