Sophie Cunningham on Kahleah Copper: ‘Everyone knows she grabbed my neck’

Sophie Cunningham addressed the now-infamous photo of her and Kahleah Copper during player exit interviews Monday night, the day after the Phoenix Mercury dropped Game 4 of the WNBA Finals to the Chicago Sky, 80-74.

Copper, named Finals MVP on Sunday for her play in the series, was charged with a common foul in Game 2 after getting into a tussle with Cunningham, who had dived for a loose ball on the court.

📸: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports https://t.co/yKcenwsyFr pic.twitter.com/F4jCxoYbJH

— Meredith Cash (@mercash22) October 19, 2021

“Are you talking about the play where she grabbed my neck?” Cunningham responded to a reporter’s question about the incident. “Everyone knows she grabbed my neck. I probably would’ve got ejected for doing that.”

“Put me on all the T-shirts you want,” she added. “My hair looked nice.”

The Mercury guard later backed up her comments on Twitter.

everyone knows what actually happened in this photo plus my hair looks cute 💁🏼‍♀️ https://t.co/DgqwJRTZfG

— Sophie Cunningham (@sophaller) October 19, 2021

The play Cunningham is referring to caused much controversy during the Finals series. The WNBA fined Diana Taurasi $2,500 for pushing a referee who was trying to break up Cunningham and Copper after the whistle.

Taurasi later said she was just trying to get to Cunningham and didn’t know she had pushed an official.