The WNBA’s Fever guard Sophie Cunningham said over the weekend that she felt she had to step up and protect her teammate, Caitlin Clark, after years of referees allowing cheap shots against Clark, who’s the league’s star player. On Tuesday, Cunningham was ejected from a game and fined after she grabbed Suns guard Jacy Sheldon by the back of the head. Earlier in the game, Sheldon poked Clark in the eye as she was passing the ball — which clearly did not sit well with Cunningham. Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images “It was just part of the game,” Cunningham told the press. “I think the refs had a lot to do with that. It was a build-up for a couple years now of them just not protecting the star player of the WNBA.” “At the end of the day, I’m going to protect my teammates,” she added. “That’s what I do.” “It’s been a build up for a couple of years now, of them not protecting the star player of the WNBA.” pic.twitter.com/FOavJEu4qY — Ken Swift (@kenswift) June 21, 2025 During last week’s game against the Suns, a number of technical fouls were handed down by the referees after Clark got her eye poked and chaos ensued. Stephanie White, coach of the Fever, blamed the referees for letting the game get out of hand. Clark, a frequent target of cheap shots in the league and the recipient of one of those technical fouls, nodded along in agreement. “I think it was pretty obvious that stuff was brewing, right?” White told the press post-game. “When the officials don’t get control of the ballgame, when they allow that stuff to happen, and it’s been happening all season long … you’ve got competitive women who are the best in the world at what they do, and when you allow them to play physical, and you allow these things to happen, they’re going to compete, and they’re going to have their teammates’ backs. It’s exactly what you expect out of fierce competition. I started talking to the officials in the first quarter, and we knew this was going to happen. You could tell it was going to happen. So they got to get control of it. They got to be better.” Justin Casterline/Getty Images As for Cunningham, the guard’s popularity has only blown up since she got ejected on Tuesday. On X, posts with the player’s background, highlights of her feisty playing on the court, and her pre-game looks have garnered massive attention. After having Caitlin Clark’s back, everyone will know who Sophie Cunningham is now. ? pic.twitter.com/Z9LtdyOfZc — ?M-Û-R-Č-H? (@TheEXECUTlONER_) June 18, 2025 As highlighted by Fox News, Cunningham comes from a farming family, and says her success derives from those experiences. “So much of our success goes back to what we learned here,” Cunningham said. “We loved coming out to the farm to help. We found out how to work hard and work together. It made us farm strong.” Related: Is the WNBA trying to make Caitlin Clark a villain?

President Donald Trump scolded Russia for “casually throwing around the ‘N word'” on Monday after Russian Deputy Chairman of the Security Council Dmitry Medvedev said that Russia, along with other nations, were planning to send nuclear warheads to Iran. Medvedev, the former president of Russia, said on Sunday that Iran’s “enrichment of nuclear material” and “the future production of nuclear weapons — will continue” after the United States bombed three major Iranian nuclear facilities in what the Trump administration called an “obliteration” of the Ayatollah’s nuclear ambitions. After the United States’ attack on Iran, Medvedev added that multiple countries “are ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads.” Trump responded to Medvedev’s comments, writing on Truth Social, “Did I hear Former President Medvedev, from Russia, casually throwing around the ‘N word’ (Nuclear!), and saying that he and other Countries would supply Nuclear Warheads to Iran? Did he really say that or, is it just a figment of my imagination?” “If he did say that, and, if confirmed, please let me know, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump added. “The ‘N word’ should not be treated so casually. I guess that’s why Putin’s ‘THE BOSS.'” The president then praised the U.S. military’s “hardware,” which was put on display during the strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities on Saturday. “By the way, if anyone thinks our ‘hardware’ was great over the weekend, far and away the strongest and best equipment we have, 20 years advanced over the pack, is our Nuclear Submarines. They are the most powerful and lethal weapons ever built, and just launched the 30 Tomahawks — All 30 hit their mark perfectly,” he wrote. Russia and Iran have found common ground in their anti-West sentiment for decades. Iran has recently supplied Russia with missiles that the country has used in its war against Ukraine, and Russia has reportedly agreed to help Iran build eight nuclear power plants. Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the U.S. attack on Iran on Monday, calling it “absolutely unprovoked,” The Washington Post reported. Putin added that U.S. involvement in the Israel-Iran conflict “is bringing the world to a very dangerous point.” Russia, however, has yet to take any action in support of Iran since the U.S. jumped into the conflict. Trump said on Sunday night that satellite imagery shows that “Monumental Damage was done to all Nuclear sites in Iran.” “Obliteration is an accurate term!” he added.

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Terry Virts, a retired NASA astronaut and self-described “common sense Democrat,” announced Monday that he is running in the 2026 Texas Senate race — which already includes a heated showdown between the Republican incumbent and his primary challenger. After making an analogy to his experience in space, Virts vowed that “down here, [President Donald] Trump’s […]

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