Jemele Hill Has Blunt Message For Sophie Cunningham On Tuesday
Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham may have made an enemy out of not one, but two major sports cities with a comment she made on Tuesday.
Advertisement
This week the WNBA announced that they will be adding three more expansion teams over the next five years, bringing the WNBA back to the city of Detroit while adding teams in Cleveland and Philadelphia. But Cunningham doesn't seem particularly keen on the idea.
Speaking to reports, she said that she's not sure how "excited" people are going to be to play in Detroit or Cleveland.
"I also think you want to listen to your players too, like, where do they want to play? Where are they going to get excited to play and draw fans?" Cunningham explained. "Miami would've been a great one, Nashville is an amazing city, Kansas City— amazing opportunity with a huge arena downtown that no one's using."
"I'm not so sure what the thought process is there," the 28-year-old admitted. "... I don't know how excited people are to be going to Detroit or [Cleveland]."
Advertisement
Those comments didn't sit well with former ESPN personality Jemele Hill. Taking to X after Cunningham's comments, Hill mocked Cunningham for saying that since she plays in the state of Indiana.
"Sis, you play in Indiana. No disrespect," Hill wrote.
But Indiana basketball fans quickly pushed back on Hill's attempt at mocking Cunningham, pointing out that Indiana is a major basketball state:
"Indiana is a basketball state tho? Amazing basketball fans!" one user wrote.
"Who can forget 'Spartans' the classic Gene Hackman movie depicting the deep connection between Michiganders and high school basketball," another pointed out.
Advertisement
"Indiana…basketball hotbed for a hundred years. You're only disrespecting yourself with that comment you made," a third wrote.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN - MARCH 11: Sophie Cunningham of the Indiana Fever speaks to the media during an introductory press conference on March 11, 2025 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Ron Hoskins/NBAE via Getty Images)"Damn if only Indiana and basketball were synonymous… you're dumber than a bag of rocks."
"Yes, Indiana is exponentially better than Detroit and Cleveland. What did she say that was wrong?"
Detroit already has an NBA team and tons of other pro sports teams. They also previously had their own WNBA team, the Detroit Shock, which later relocated to Tulsa and is now the Dallas Wings.
As for Cleveland, that city also has no shortage of major sports teams and plenty of infrastructure to support more.
Advertisement
Maybe both of them are wrong...
Related: Sophie Cunningham Takes Shot At Two Major U.S. Cities
Jemele Hill Has Blunt Message For Sophie Cunningham On Tuesday first appeared on The Spun on Jul 1, 2025
This story was originally reported by The Spun on Jul 1, 2025, where it first appeared.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NBC News
17 minutes ago
- NBC News
Gavin Williams just misses Guardians' first no-hitter in 44 years in 4-1 win over Mets
Gavin Williams came within two outs of Cleveland's first no-hitter in 44 years before Juan Soto homered with one out in the ninth inning, and the Guardians completed a three-game sweep of the reeling New York Mets with a 4-1 win Wednesday. Williams (7-4) walked three and struck out six, including Francisco Lindor to lead off the ninth. But Soto homered just beyond the leaping grasp of center fielder Angel Martínez two pitches later for the Mets' first hit since the fourth inning of Tuesday's 3-2 loss. The Guardians have not thrown a no-hitter since Len Barker twirled a perfect game on May 15, 1981. Their no-hitter drought is the longest in the majors. There has not been a no-hitter in the majors this season. Williams, who was the first player on the field in the ninth with nobody warming up in the Guardians' bullpen, retired Pete Alonso on a fly to right but exited after walking Brandon Nimmo for the third time. The right-hander threw 126 pitches — 17 more than his previous career high and the most in the majors since Alex Cobb threw 131 in a one-hitter for the San Francisco Giants on Aug. 29, 2023. Hunter Gaddis got Mark Vientos to fly out to earn his second save. David Fry led off the second by homering against David Peterson (7-5). Martínez hit a two-run homer in the third and Gabriel Arias added an RBI triple in the sixth. The Mets have lost eight of nine.
CBS News
17 minutes ago
- CBS News
Luke Keaschall drives in three runs as Twins beat Tigers 9-4
Luke Keaschall drove in three runs for the second straight game and the Minnesota Twins beat the Detroit Tigers 9-4 on Wednesday. Keaschell is hitting .393 in his nine-game major league career, which was interrupted in April by a broken arm. He returned on Tuesday and has four hits and six RBIs in his first two games back. Thomas Hatch (1-0) picked up the win with 4 1/3 scoreless innings of relief. He was claimed off waivers on Monday from the Kansas City Royals. Jack Flaherty (6-11) took the loss, giving up six runs in 4 2/3 innings. The Twins took a 2-0 lead in the first. Alan Roden and Matt Wallner started the game with singles, and Keaschall drove them in with a two-out double. Keaschall had three RBIs in Tuesday's 6-3 win, including his first career homer. Minnesota made it 3-0 in the second when Brooks Lee scored on a wild pitch, but Spencer Torkelson's 24th homer narrowed the game to two runs in the bottom of the inning. Zach McKinstry pulled the Tigers within one with a leadoff homer in the third and Kerry Carpenter's two-run shot put Detroit ahead 4-3 later in the inning. Lee homered in the fourth and the Twins took a 6-4 lead on RBI doubles by Ryan Jeffers and Keaschall in the fifth. Austin Martin and Roden homered off Tyler Holton in the sixth. The Tigers had runners on first and third with one out in the eighth and their 3-4-5 hitters due up. A.J. Hinch sent Jahmai Jones in to hit for Carpenter and Kody Funderburke got him to ground into an inning-ending double play. Keaschall has reached base in his first nine career games, the second-longest streak in Twins history. Glenn Williams reached in his first 13 games in 2005. Each team is off on Thursday before starting the weekend home series on Friday. Twins ace RHP Joe Ryan (10-5, 2.83) is scheduled to start against the Kansas City Royals, while Tigers All-Star LHP Tarik Skubal (11-3, 2.18) will face the Los Angeles Angels.
Fox News
17 minutes ago
- Fox News
Sophie Cunningham fined again, this time four figures, for criticizing referees a second time
Sophie Cunningham did not learn the lesson. Days after she was fined $500 for criticizing referees on a TikTok, she was fined triple that amount for doing so again. In her new podcast, "Show Me Something," Cunningham insinuated that refs "mess up all the time." "If I was a ref, I know I would mess up all the time. Like, I'm not saying that your job is easy, but when it is a simple call right in front of your face multiple times, what are you doing? What are you doing?" Cunningham began. "They're just so inconsistent, like that's one thing. If you're on the other team, and you're going to be fouling the s--- out of me, cool. But let me do it to you… I think players across the league, and new fans across the country are like, 'What is going on with the refs?' And I'm like, 'I don't know.' And you fining me $500 is not going to do s---." Cunningham accurately predicted she would get fined. "They fined me $1,500. I'm like, 'This is just the beginning.' I'm like, 'You're kidding,'" Cunningham said on the podcast's most recent episode. "They email our GM, and she pulls me aside and says, 'Sophie, I've got to talk to you,' and this is front of everybody. I'm like, 'What did I do now?' And just smiled, and she goes, 'Hey, they're going to fine you again.' I was like, 'I even told them I credited them that their job was hard.' I did say that. I said that I would not be good at it. I did say that. Like, look at the whole picture. What are we doing? Ugh. But yeah, so I got fined for that." The Indiana Fever guard is in her seventh WNBA season, but she's hit the big time ever since she started a ruckus in defense of Caitlin Clark. Jacy Sheldon poked Clark in the eye and was also pushed to the floor by Marina Mabrey. Cunningham wrapped up Sheldon under the basket on a hard foul in the fourth quarter, and the two were ejected. In 25 games this year, Cunningham is putting up 8.0 points per contest and shooting 41.9% from three-point range.
