Marina Mabrey, Sophie Cunningham fined but not suspended by WNBA for flagrant fouls in separate scuffles

Indianapolis Star

5 hours ago

INDIANAPOLIS – The WNBA has taken further action after Tuesday night's Fever-Sun game that included two dustups and three ejections.
Marina Mabrey's technical foul, which came from her shoving Fever guard Caitlin Clark to the ground during a scuffle, has been upgraded to a flagrant 2 foul, the league confirmed to IndyStar.
Mabrey was part of the first dustup of the game, which happened in the third quarter. It started when Sun guard Jacy Sheldon poked Clark in the eye, and Clark immediately recoiled and reacted, turning back to Sheldon. The two shoved each other, and Sun center Tina Charles got in the middle of them. Mabrey then ran into the scrum and puffed out her chest, knocking Clark to the ground.
The two teams were then immediately separated by officials, security guards and the coaching staffs. After a long review, officials upgraded Sheldon's common foul to a flagrant 1 foul and assessed technical fouls to Clark, Charles, and Mabrey.
Many people, including the broadcast, media and fans across the league, were confused how Mabrey did not get ejected for that hit.
"Oh Marina Mabrey is going to be ejected," Fever play-by-play announcer Pat Boylan said on the broadcast as Clark fell to the ground. "If the officials saw that, then Marina Mabrey is going to be ejected... Mabrey's day is almost assuredly going to be done."
But instead, Mabrey originally got the same penalty Charles and Clark got with technical fouls.
Crew chief Ashley Gloss said in a pool report conducted by IndyStar postgame "the contact made by Mabrey did not rise to the level of an ejection. Additionally, (it) did not meet the criteria for a flagrant foul penalty two." Clark and Charles both received their technical fouls for acting in an "unsportsmanlike manner."
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After additional review from the league, however, it was determined Mabrey's foul is upgraded to a flagrant 2. If that were called in game, she would have been immediately ejected.
The league cannot go back in time and retroactively eject Mabrey from the game, but a flagrant 2 holds a standard fine and more weight than a technical foul in terms of a potential suspension. A flagrant 2 is worth two points, and if a player gets up to five points, they are automatically suspended for one game.
Mabrey has not been suspended for the foul, and she will not face any additional fines on top of the standard fine.
The league has levied additional fines on Fever guard Sophie Cunningham for her role in the on-court fight near the end of the game.
With the Fever up 17 with 46 seconds left, Cunningham grabbed Sheldon's head while she was going up for a layup, pulling her down to the ground. Sheldon got up immediately, and she and fellow Sun guard Lindsay Allen rushed Cunningham. The fight spilled over into the crowd, and Cunningham pulled Sheldon's hair.
After another review, Cunningham was called for a flagrant 2 on the court and ejected. Sheldon and Allen were also assessed technicals for fighting and ejected.
The league also fined Cunningham separately on top of that standard flagrant 2 fine for her role in the on-court skirmish. At this time, the league did not levy additional fines — other than the standard technical fine — on Sheldon or Allen for their roles. Cunningham has also not been suspended.
The league also confirmed at this time, neither Fever coach Stephanie White nor Sun coach Rachid Meziane have been fined for their comments about the officials postgame. That doesn't mean they won't be fined, the league said, but just that as of Wednesday afternoon, they have not been fined.