{
  "id": 15241727,
  "title": "Sophie Cunningham Calls Out 'Dangerous' Angel Reese Plays Before WNBA Finals",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/17/sophie-cunningham-calls-out-dangerous-angel-reese-plays-before-wnba",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-10-17T16:52:21.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Newsweek",
    "slug": "newsweek",
    "url": "https://www.newsweek.com/sports/sophie-cunningham-calls-out-dangerous-angel-reese-plays-before-wnba-finals-12583693"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Sophie Cunningham, a star for the Indiana Fever, has criticized the aggressive and dangerous plays of Atlanta Dream's Angel Reese before the WNBA Finals. Cunningham, during a podcast episode, commented on several incidents involving Reese against the New York Liberty in Game 3 of their semifinal series. One notable incident involved Reese following Liberty's Sabrina Ionescu up the court and getting in her ear during a play called an offensive foul after a hard screen. Cunningham called this play \"absolutely insane\" and questioned why Reese didn't receive a technical foul. She also described the officiating as \"weird and inconsistent\" because they gave technical fouls to Reese and Liberty's Jonquel Jones for similar behavior in another play. Cunningham suggested she would have preferred the refs to let them trash talk, as she believes that's part of playoff basketball.\n\nFurthermore, Cunningham pointed out two plays where Reese, in an effort to get physical, crashed into Liberty players, causing them to trip and fall. While she praised Reese's effort for playing aggressively, she also expressed concerns about the danger of such plays. Cunningham's criticism of the referees' decisions and potential bias raises questions about the safety of players and the fairness of the game. The Dream and Reese advanced to the WNBA Finals with a decisive win in Game 3, and they now await their first-ever WNBA championship opponents, the Golden State Valkyries.",
  "summary": "Sophie Cunningham called out Angel Reese's \"dangerous\" plays ahead of the Dream playing the Valkyries in the WNBA Finals.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "Bassett: Angel Reese, Dream meet Valkyries in new WNBA Finals era",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/bassett-angel-reese-dream-meet-valkyries-in-new-wnba-finals-era",
        "published": "2026-10-16T11:00:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Newsweek",
        "title": "NBA Legend Fires Back at Angel Reese Critics After Dream Reach WNBA Finals",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/16/nba-legend-fires-back-at-angel-reese-critics-after-dream-reach-wnba",
        "published": "2026-10-16T21:35:04.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}