Warner Todd Huston – 21 Jul 2026 – Breitbart
The WNBA has formally blocked itself from profiting off of Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham’s viral finger point, but it’s not blocking her.
Cunningham, who now leads the league with a 3-point average of 43.7 percent, has become one of the league’s most popular and well-known players this year, especially after she performed her finger-pointing at Mercury player DeWanna Bonner on June 22 during the game between her Fever and the Phoenix Mercury.
She held out her accusatory finger for a long 22 seconds on the boards and instantly became a massive Internet meme. https://www.breitbart.com/t/assets/html/tweet-5.html#2071176019441021018
But the WNBA has ruled her viral moment “derogatory” and, as such, will not look to profit financially from the viral sensation.
“For licensed apparel, we generally do not feature or look to monetize player conduct from a confrontation between our members,” a WNBPA spokesperson told Front Office Sports.
As for Cunningham, she can profit from images of the meme so long as she does not incorporate the WNBA logo.
Even the kids at Cunningham’s youth camp were excited to do the finger-point with the player, Brobible reported. https://www.breitbart.com/t/assets/html/tweet-5.html#2078917558103662757
As the WNBA continues to fight for relevance, many see the league’s refusal to capitalize on the meme as yet another failure. https://www.breitbart.com/t/assets/html/tweet-5.html#2079369650358415780
The People’s Republic of the WNBA strikes again.
Sophie Cunningham produced one of the most recognizable, entertaining and organically viral images in league history. Millions shared it. Celebrities recreated it. The White House referenced it. Sophie embraced it.
So naturally, the WNBPA reportedly prohibited its licensed partners from monetizing it because pointing at another player was considered “derogatory.”
She didn’t throw a punch.
She didn’t use a slur.
She didn’t threaten anyone.
She pointed.
This is no longer merely bad marketing. It is ideological control masquerading as professionalism.
Everything must be approved. Every joke must be sanitized. Every rivalry must be neutralized. Every phrase must survive an ideological tribunal. Every image must reinforce the preferred narrative… or be suppressed.
The WNBA spent decades begging America to care. Now that millions finally do, the league’s surrounding establishment treats those fans like unruly citizens who must be corrected, censored and reeducated.
Violent contact? Context required.
A harmless Australian expression? Suspension.
A viral pointing meme? Too dangerous to monetize.
This increasingly feels less like a professional basketball league and more like a communist cultural ministry with a basketball schedule.
The WNBA does not lack attention, personalities or marketable moments. It lacks leadership capable of allowing any of them to exist beyond its control.
Welcome to the People’s Republic of the WNBA… where even Sophie Cunningham’s index finger must receive approval from the state. 👉
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