Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham is quickly proving to be Caitlin Clark's protector both on and off the court.

Cunningham has enjoyed a rapid ascent to fame after her viral defense of Clark in a June 17 game against the Connecticut Sun, and it seems her platform is only going to grow for the foreseeable future. The WNBA vet recently entered the media landscape with her no-holds-barred podcast, Show Me Something, and got extremely passionate talking about Clark in particular.

Cunningham was discussing the physicality and poor officiating from the Fever-Sun game, and gave her unfiltered take on how WNBA players have been targeting Clark since her rookie season.

"You have seen players in our league try to toughen up Caitlin even when I wasn't on the team," Cunningham said. "I know the talks that Phoenix had in the locker room like, 'No, we're going to show her what the W really is.' You know what I mean? I get it to a certain extent and every rookie coming into the league, that's how we're gonna treat them. But there's just more for her.

"It's her second year, now being on her team and seeing it, I'm like, 'What are people doing?'"

As Cunningham said, every rookie gets her "Welcome to the W" moment sooner or later. From Cunningham's first-hand account, though, it seems the league's old guard aren't relenting when it comes to defending Clark.

Thanks to her newly inked podcast deal, expect a lot more of Cunningham's takes before this WNBA season is over.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Sophie Cunningham Says Quiet Part Out Loud About WNBA Players Targeting Caitlin Clark.

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