FOX star orders Indiana Fever to release 'hot' Sophie Cunningham

06:51 ET, Sun, Oct 4, 2026

Dan Dakich has offered his opinion (Image: Outkick)

Outkick's Dan Dakich called on the Indiana Fever to move on from Sophie Cunningham, declaring that the star guard "ain't very good."

Thursday saw the Fever experience an ignominious playoff exit after losing to the Las Vegas Aces, 94-83, in Game 3 of their first-round series. Cunningham, who has hit out at rival A'ja Wilson, failed to make a significant impact during the Fever's loss, posting five points, two assists, and one rebound while shooting 2-of-4 from the field.

Across three postseason games coming off the bench, she managed only 7.3 points and 1.3 rebounds per contest. During the most recent installment of his 'Don't @ Me!' podcast, Dakich acknowledged Cunningham's underwhelming output before calling on the Fever to overhaul their roster. Outkick is owned by FOX.

"If I am the Fever, if I am the owner, Simon, I am firing Stephanie White. I am firing Kelly Kasparov. I am firing Amber Cox. Those are the two front office ladies. I'm getting rid of anything other than basketball people."

Sophie Cunningham is one of the WNBA's biggest names (Image: Getty Images)

Despite the Fever boasting one of the league's elite talents in Caitlin Clark, Dakich cautioned that Indiana's opportunity to compete for a championship is rapidly diminishing. "This window with Caitlin Clark — and I'm not talking about only on the court, I'm talking about all around — is damn near closed based on what you have right now," he stated.

"Aliyah Boston, no good. Sophie Cunningham's awesome, and she's hot, but she can't play dead. No, no, no. Kelsey Mitchell and Caitlin Clark are the only two that get to stay. Then we figure the whole thing out.

"But honest to God, in terms of Caitlin Clark, all of this stuff, all of these commercials, and all of this drama has led to absolutely nothing. Zero for the Indiana Fever, except they made a few bucks. Now I am talking about on the court — it's gotta be better."

It wasn't long ago that Dakich offered a starkly different assessment of Cunningham, who earned the nickname "MAGA Barbie" from conservative media and certain league supporters based on her apparent political leanings.

In July, Dakich declared Cunningham the face of the WNBA during a conversation about her player-exclusive colorway of the adidas Crazy Energy basketball shoes. "She has a shoe because companies are in business to make money," he remarked then.

"And Sophie Cunningham is the face currently of the WNBA because she's smarter than you. She's smarter than all of you.

"She understands what she looks like. And if that's being white, blonde, and attractive, tough. That's what she looks like. That's what God gave her. She's worked on her body.

"She's a pro basketball player that understands modern social media. You idiots, you jealous little girls. She has a shoe because she is beautiful. Now you got hot. You got hot.

"You got sexy, you got likable, and you got women that are willing to do both. Be hot, sexy, and likable, and be a bad--- on the basketball court. That's why she has a shoe, you dolts."