Unlike you, I’ve actually been to a WNBA game. Ten years ago, at the invite of a Chicago Sky publicist. I thought it would be a fun outing for myself and my wife, and it was, in a low-key way. The crowd was small but enthusiastic. The action on the court was spirited. We had great seats — little tables on the floor behind the basket, in fact. We got free popcorn, and an orange-and-white basketball signed by the lanky Sky star at the time, Elena Delle Donne, who powered the team past the Seattle Storm, 92-88.
The game did not create in me a fervent interest in women’s basketball. Which is no insult to women’s sports. I’m not captivated by the men’s NBA either.
But even I have noticed the ongoing saga of Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark, whose presence has supercharged the league. Her opponents seem to really hate her, because of — and I base this on my professional research, not personal bias, so don’t blame me for these options — 1) her raw talent; 2) her $28 million contract with Nike; 3) her heterosexual orientation; 4) her white race; or 5) all four.
As a result Clark gets poked in the eye more than Curly Howard of the Three Stooges, and she is constantly being bludgeoned to the floor while refs gaze at the ceiling, if Instagram is any guide.
All of which could still be safely left to the sports pages. But Instagram has a way of holding your face in certain cultural moments, and Sunday my feed was inexplicably filled with Clark’s teammate, Sophie Cunningham, pointing her finger.
Fans tonight already asking Sophie to pose for photos with the point 🫵#WNBAonUSA | Fever 🔥 pic.twitter.com/y49UHEHgm9
— USA Sports (@usasports) June 24, 2026
That’s it. Pointing. At an opponent. In a very cool, focused manner.
Perhaps you’ve seen it. Perhaps some background is in order.
In a June 22 game, Clark was issued a technical foul after scuffling with Phoenix Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner. The call caused Cunningham to calmly point at Bonner, with an “I see you” look. Bonner started raging, and pointing herself, and demanding Cunningham stop pointing at her, prompting Cunningham to keep pointing, her face serene, rhythmically wagging her finger.
It might have been another dust mote in the media whirlwind. But the image gained traction online, and on June 30 the White House jumped in, tweeting Cunningham talking about the incident on a podcast, paired with Donald Trump, also pointing — because everything has to be about him.
Now Cunningham’s is the finger that launched a thousand memes.
Cunningham crossing the Delaware in place of George Washington. Cunningham as Helen of Troy. Cunningham at the water’s edge, ordering a boatload of dodgy-looking refugees to “Go the f— home.”
Why? Well, again theories: Cunningham is 1) tall and blond, in the mold of the Fox News feminine ideal; 2) she’s from Missouri, which led some to assume she’s conservative, though there’s no sign of that; 3) she’s white, admonishing a Black player, causing some on Instagram to decide she’s calling out DEI; 4) apparently straight, in a sport where that isn’t always the case.
Cue that patented mind-reading trick the right has perfected: Cunningham’s viral moment was deemed a finger in the eye of sputtering liberals.
“Why does Sophie Cunningham trigger the left so much?” asks a comment on Facebook with over 3,600 likes, providing zero examples of the supposed doorjamb-gnawing liberal outrage. “Sophie Cunningham is strong, talented, confident, and fearless — the kind of woman who refuses to bow down to woke nonsense or political correctness. While the radical left pushes its anti-woman agenda and tries to redefine strength, Sophie represents excellence, hard work, and real femininity. She shows young women that success comes from talent, grit, discipline, and determination — not victimhood, handouts, or special treatment. God bless Sophie Cunningham for showing the world what strong, accomplished American women look like. The left can’t stand her because she represents everything their failed ideology can’t produce.”
As a designated representative of bleeding heart liberality (it’s true; the Conservative Crusader once dubbed me “the king of left-wing lunacy in the Windy City”), I just want to state plainly that, before the political nonsense came pouring in like an overflowing toilet, I thought Cunningham’s point was a boss move. I approve of Cunningham having Clark’s back and particularly like what Cunningham said when reporters asked for her reaction to the White House putting her finger through its megaphone.
“I think everyone around the world is posting it,” she said Friday, diplomatically. “Every company has done it. They also get on board. I don’t think twice about it. I think they’re just another group who is posting about it.”
To not think twice about the endless howl of grievance echoing across this country — must be nice.