Fact Check: WNBA Did NOT Tell Sophie Cunningham She Can't Point Because It's Racially Derogatory

Did the WNBA tell Sophie Cunningham she can no longer point because it is racially derogatory? No, that’s not true: There is no evidence the WNBA banned Indiana Fever player Cunningham from pointing at other players or selling merchandise of her viral pointing moment. Neither the WNBA nor the Women’s National Basketball Players Association banned Cunningham from selling merchandise from the incident. As an individual, Cunningham can use her likeness however she wants; she just can’t use the WNBA or WNBPA logo, per union rules. Both Cunningham and the player she was pointing at received a foul for the incident during the June 22, 2026, game against the Phoenix Mercury.

The claim appeared in a July 22, 2026, post on X account @SnowflakeSlayr1 (archived Fact Check: WNBA Did NOT Tell). It opened:

The WNBA is telling Sophie Cunningham she can no longer point as it’s been determined to be a racially deragatory statement!
Also, she can’t use her own likeness to sell merchandise of her hilarious viral moment!
The woke joke WNBA blatantly censoring a white woman because the organization is run by racists 😡

The WNBA is telling Sophie Cunningham she can no longer point as it’s been determined to be a racially deragatory statement!
Also, she can’t use her own likeness to sell merchandise of her hilarious viral moment!
The woke joke WNBA blatantly censoring a white woman because the organization is run by racists 😡

This is what the image in the post looked like on X:

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We are going to fact check both claims made in the post.

‘The WNBA is telling Sophie Cunningham she can no longer point as it’s been determined to be a racially deragatory [sic] statement!’

The WNBA gave both Cunningham and Phoenix Mercury player DeWanna Bonner a foul after the pointing incident during the June 22, 2026, game, in which Cunningham was pointing at Bonner, as the New York Times reported (archived Fact Check: WNBA Did NOT Tell). There hasn’t been an official statement released by the WNBA saying Cunningham is banned from the move on either the website (archived Fact Check: WNBA Did NOT Tell) as of publication time.

‘Also, she can’t use her own likeness to sell merchandise of her hilarious viral moment!’

The rules regarding merchandise for individual players are determined by the WNBPA. The Athletic reported (archived Fact Check: WNBA Did NOT Tell) the WNBPA policy is that it does not create any apparel that features a confrontation between members of the union. Nor would it grant “an outside entity the right to use the likeness of that event,” meaning neither the WNBA nor WNBA licensees can create merchandise from the incident.

Cunningham is not under any such restriction. According to The Athletic, “individual players can use their own likeness however they choose,” provided she does not include the WNBA or WNBPA logo.

Here is a video from the incident posted on YouTube account @ChazNBA (archivedFact Check: WNBA Did NOT Tell):