Why the WNBA won’t promote, monetize Sophie Cunningham’s viral point
· Yahoo Sports
When Indiana Fever star Sophie Cunningham pointed at Phoenix Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner for a lengthy 22 seconds on Monday, June 22, the WNBA’s latest viral moment was created.
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The moment turned into a meme and was shared all over the internet, even by the official X account from the White House.
But don’t expect to see any officially licensed apparel from the WNBA or its Players Association with Cunningham’s point.
The WNBA Players Association has a policy to not monetize confrontation-coded moments between its members. Sports business reporter Darren Rovell originally reported that the WNBPA was "prohibiting licensees" from using the image of Cunningham in their products and that the WNBPA called the moment "derogatory."
"For licensed apparel, we generally do not feature or look to monetize player conduct from a confrontation between our members," a WNBPA spokesperson told Front Office Sports.
Licensees that partner with the WNBPA include video game company 2K, apparel companies Breaking T, New Era and Lids, sports cards brand Panini, and other companies like Aflac, JPMorgan Chase and Funko.
However, Cunningham could pursue avenues to monetize the moment on her own. The Fever star can license her own name, image and likeness for shirts, hats, posters or whatever – those products just won’t include any official WNBA or WNBPA logos.
Put more simply, the WNBPA isn’t blocking Cunningham from profiting off this viral moment, they just aren’t doing the work for her. Cunningham can even pursue monetization opportunities with brands that are union partners.
In fact, back in 2021, Cunningham was on the other side of this. Kahleah Copper staring down Cunningham in the Finals created a viral moment and Copper created her own t-shirts that captured it.
Cunningham has already capitalized off the moment as it has elevated her star power within the sport. Since she pointed at Bonner, Cunningham has appeared as a UFC ring girl, gone on James Corden’s late-night talk show on FOX, and talked with Shannon Spake on her podcast – where she called Bonner "Miss Priss."
Shirts with Cunningham’s viral point are already being sold by companies like Etsy, TeePublic and Shein. She is averaging 9.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists for the Fever while shooting 43.7% from 3-point land – which is the ninth-best mark from beyond the arc in the WNBA this season.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Why the WNBA won’t promote, monetize Sophie Cunningham’s viral point