A WNBA athlete who recently became widely recognized faced a $500 penalty for her remarks about referees in a TikTok clip.

If you keep even a minor eye on the WNBA, you’ve probably heard of Sophie Cunningham. She spent six years with the Phoenix Mercury before being traded to the Indiana Fever. She has gained popularity among WNBA enthusiasts for her advocacy of teammate Caitlin Clark both on and off the court. During a notable incident, Cunningham tackled Connecticut Sun player Jacy Sheldon and pushed her to the floor after Sheldon poked Clark in the eye earlier in the game. The event racked up millions of views on social media, Cunningham’s jerseys began to fly off the shelves, and she has since attracted over a million followers on both Instagram and TikTok.

Fever supporters have expressed concerns that referees have been overly stringent on Clark in particular, and Cunningham has openly defended her. She argues that the league’s referees fail to sufficiently protect Clark, whom she dubs “the star player of the WNBA,” from fouls and aggressive play.

Cunningham escalated her criticism with a TikTok post earlier this week that led to a $500 fine. It’s aligned with a TikTok trend where users lip-sync to a Sabrina Carpenter song featuring the lyrics, “Stupid! Or is it… slow? Maybe it’s… useless?” She mouthed the lyrics while dressed in a camouflaged matching outfit with the text “@ some refs” displayed over it. The video has accumulated 1.3 million views, with most comments backing Cunningham’s stance, expressing sentiments like “We will pay your fine” and “we’re all in love with the enforcement,” in reference to her shielding of Clark.

In a message on X, Cunningham remarked: “I got fined $500 for this TikTok 🤣🤣 idk why this is funny to me… like ok 👍🏼 you got it bud! Cause there’s not more important things to be worried about with our league right now.”

This isn’t the only issue Cunningham is currently dealing with. In addition to being Clark’s protector, which brings its own set of complications, she’s also been dubbed “MAGA Barbie” due to her supposed political affiliations. She also weighed in on the WNBA’s plans for expansion, where the league disclosed intentions to establish teams in Detroit, Cleveland, and Philadelphia in the coming years, stating, “I don’t know how excited people are to be going to Detroit.”