At a Monday afternoon fan event during the Indiana Fever’s off-day, shooting guard Sophie Cunningham took a jab at one of Caitlin Clark’s newest WNBA foes by signing a Jacy Sheldon trading card with a rather humorous message written across a fan’s collectible.
Sheldon, who was selected No. 5 overall in the 2024 WNBA draft by the Dallas Wings following five seasons at Ohio State, has quickly established a very negative opinion from both Hawkeyes and Fever fans after her June 17 Flagrant 1 foul on Clark and her eventually uncalled knee to the right groin area during their July 15 clash in Boston as a member of the Connecticut Sun.
During the event, a fan requested and was granted by Cunningham for the sixth-year sharpshooter to sign a Jacy Sheldon rookie card with the phrase “PROPERTY OF: SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM” on the face of the card.
With teammate Lexie Hull sitting beside Cunningham, both laughed at the reference by the fan as the team has had a number of eventful meetings with Sheldon so far this season.
The infamous late-game escalation of the June 17 matchup by Cunningham instantly made her a fan-favorite amongst the Fever faithful when she aggressively fouled Sheldon in retribution for the earlier incident against Clark.
While there are multiple speculative reasons for Clark’s subsequent right groin injury suffered in the July 15 meeting, the unpenalized knee to the now-injured area by Sheldon appears to be a go-to factor for fans upset with the blatantly ignored physicality against the franchise cornerstone.
With Clark’s non-participation in Monday’s team practice, she will miss her 11th straight game on Tuesday as the star guard reoveres the very same right groin injury. This now increases her total absences in the 2025 season to 20 regular season games and 21 contests overall, including the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup final.
Ironically, the Fever will soon be facing Sheldon against as the since-traded guard is now a part of the Washington Mystics roster, whom will be in Indianapolis on Friday.
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