{
  "id": 8187147,
  "title": "Fever star Sophie Cunningham gives her ‘biased’ take on Caitlin Clark’s Team USA role",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/fever-star-sophie-cunningham-gives-her-biased-take-on-caitlin-clarks",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-18T06:05:30.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/fever-star-sophie-cunningham-gives-060530916.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Sophie Cunningham expressed her dissatisfaction with Caitlin Clark's limited role on the United States women's basketball team during the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup. As the tournament concluded, the WNBA stars returned to their respective teams, including Clark and Cunningham, who are teammates with the Indiana Fever. The focus shifted to the regular season, with Cunningham expressing her disappointment over Clark's lack of a starting position on Team USA. Head coach Kara Lawson favored veteran players over Clark, Angel Reese, and Paige Bueckers during the World Cup. Although Team USA won the gold medal, Cunningham believes Clark should have been a starter. She acknowledged that love and being a teammate may have biased her opinion but maintained that Clark should have started. The comments come as the Fever prepare for the final stretch of the regular season, with four games left before the 2026 WNBA playoffs begin.",
  "summary": "Caitlin Clark’s limited role on Team USA didn’t sit well with Sophie Cunningham. With the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup over, WNBA stars have returned to their respective teams.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Newsweek",
        "title": "Sophie Cunningham Fires Back at Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell Narrative",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/sophie-cunningham-fires-back-at-caitlin-clark-kelsey-mitchell",
        "published": "2026-09-18T02:17:32.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Yahoo Sports",
        "title": "‘It’s crazy’ – Sophie Cunningham reveals if she supports Kelsey Mitchell over Caitlin Clark for MVP",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/its-crazy-sophie-cunningham-reveals-if-she-supports-kelsey-mitchell",
        "published": "2026-09-18T07:37:32.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}