Sophie Cunningham explained the “beef” between herself and the Mercury after her comments about DeWanna Bonner’s departure from the Fever.

Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham, who went viral for her twerk after the team's Commissioner's Cup win against the Minnesota Lynx.
The Indiana Fever have faced plenty of adversity during the 2025 WNBA season. Indiana has been without superstar Caitlin Clark for multiple games. They also lost both Aari McDonald and Sydney Colson to season-ending injuries last week. One Fever player is speaking out again on another difficult situation that Indiana faced earlier this season.

Fever guard Sophie Cunningham opened up on the budding rivalry between Indiana and Phoenix on her Show Me Something podcast.

“Played the old team. There was some, maybe a little bit of beef, because of our last podcast,” Cunningham said on Wednesday. “Our teams don’t really like each other anyway… Her leaving, some of those players used to be under our coaching staff. So there’s just a lot there.”

Cunningham is referring to her remarks about DeWanna Bonner’s departure from Indiana earlier this season.

“I could have been way meaner,” Cunningham declared. “She did not listen to the whole clip.”

Sophie took a diplomatic approach, saying that she was still rooting for Bonner to succeed. However, she wished that Bonner had been a little more professional about leaving the Fever. Particularly when it comes to talking with her teammates.

“I’m still rooting for her, I want her to be happy,” Cunningham said. “But I also think it’s okay to be professional about it, send a text to your teammates. ‘Hey guys, sorry this didn’t work out, good luck, etc.’ There’s a way to handle that, I think.”

The last matchup between the Fever and Mercury was quite contentious.

Indiana lost their last matchup against Phoenix in epic fashion, losing by 35 points. Bonner had an excellent game coming off the bench, scoring a season-high 23 points. It was clear that Phoenix intended to give her a chance to prove she is still a talented player.

Cunningham played well herself, scoring 18 points and draining multiple three-pointers.

Those kinds of games, plus off-the-court drama like Bonner’s midseason exit, are exactly the things that start heated rivalries.

The Fever will get one more shot at the Mercury during the regular season.

Indiana will travel to Phoenix on September 2nd for one of their last games before the WNBA playoffs.