INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham was already a social media star. Now she's gone to another level after pointing at Phoenix's DeWanna Bonner.
The point lasted 22 seconds. The internet noticed.
Memes of Cunningham — who came to the defense of teammate Caitlin Clark — pointing at and staring at Bonner on Monday night while being ushered away by Fever staff members hit social media in waves.
“My wife when she sees how I loaded the dishwasher,” one person posted.
“OL seeing a DL flinch on a hard count,” NFL analytics expert Warren Sharp posted.
And there were plenty of others, and it's not just the internet. Fever fans asked Cunningham to take photos with them pointing on Wednesday, and she happily obliged.
There is a back story between Cunningham and Bonner, who played nine games for the Fever last season. Cunningham criticized Bonner on a podcast for not texting her Fever teammates before heading out.
So when Bonner and Clark got into a disagreement during the Fever's 86-77 victory, Cunningham didn't hesitate to get involved. She and Bonner began pointing at each other, and Cunningham kept going as Bonner had to be held back.
Both players received technical fouls.
This was not the first time Cunningham has defended Clark. She chased down and essentially tackled Connecticut's Jacy Sheldon in response to the Sun guard poking Clark in the eye. Cunningham and Sheldon were ejected.
Her social media following quickly expanded and Cunningham now has about 1.5 million followers on Instagram.
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Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham celebrates after a three-point basket against the Atlanta Dream in the first half of a WNBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Thursday, June 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
FILE - Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) plays against the Dallas Wings in the second half of a WNBA basketball game in Indianapolis, Aug. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)
PHOENIX (AP) — A polygamous sect leader already serving a 50-year federal prison sentence for orchestrating sex involving children was convicted Friday on state child abuse charges after girls were found in an unventilated trailer he was hauling through Arizona.
Someone alerted authorities about the trailer in August 2022 after seeing small fingers reaching through gaps in the doors. Police stopped Samuel Bateman's vehicle as he was driving through Flagstaff and found three girls inside, who were ages 11 to 14 at the time. The trailer was enclosed with a makeshift toilet, a sofa and camping chairs.
In the federal case, Bateman was convicted of coercing girls as young as 9 to submit to sex acts with him and other young adults, and for scheming to kidnap girls from protective custody, the story of which is the focus of a Netflix series, “Trust Me: The False Prophet.”
Bateman previously claimed to have more than 20 "spiritual wives," including 10 girls under the age of 18. He testified in his own defense in the state case, telling jurors he would never harm the people he loves. He acknowledged during cross-examination that he knew the girls were in a hot trailer for hours and the ventilation wasn't good, but downplayed the conditions.
“I just trusted myself as a driver,” he said. “I asked God to bless me every time we hopped in that vehicle.”
He claimed he thought the girls had gotten out when they stopped. He said he was as “shocked as could possibly be” when he learned that they were still inside when he was pulled over.
During closing arguments, prosecutor Eric Ruchensky told jurors, “It’s common sense that you don’t carry people in a trailer designed for cargo on a hot day with no ventilation."
Jurors in the state case weren't supposed to hear about Bateman's conviction in federal court. The judge barred the evidence from being introduced. But Bateman brought it up several times as he represented himself, leading the judge to strike the comments from the record.
The jury delivered the verdict Friday in about 40 minutes, convicting him on all three counts of child abuse. . Each count carries a mandatory sentence, between four and eight years. The judge has discretion to run the counts consecutively or concurrently. A sentencing hearing is scheduled Aug. 25.
The Associated Press left a voice mail and email messages Friday for Bateman’s appointed advisory counsel.
Federal authorities said Bateman, a self-proclaimed prophet, traveled extensively between Arizona, Utah, Colorado and Nebraska as he built an offshoot network of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which historically has been based in the neighboring communities of Colorado City, Arizona, and Hildale, Utah.
He and his followers practiced polygamy, a legacy of the early teachings of the mainstream Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which abandoned the practice in 1890 and now strictly prohibits it.
Bateman was one of the trusted followers of Warren Jeffs, who previously led the sect and is serving a life sentence in Texas for sexual assault of children.
The influence of the polygamous sect has waned significantly over time in the towns where the sect has historically been based. In 2017, a court order placed the towns under supervision, excising the church from their governments and shared police department.
But the area has since transformed so quickly that they were released from court-ordered supervision last summer, almost two years earlier than expected. Practicing sect members are now believed to account for only a small percentage of the towns’ populations.
FILE - This undated photo provided by the Coconino County, Ariz., Sheriff's Office shows Samuel Bateman, the leader of a small polygamous group near the Arizona-Utah border. (Coconino County Sheriff's Office via AP, File)
FILE - Hildale, Utah, sits at the base of Red Rock Cliff mountains, with its sister city, Colorado City, Ariz., in the foreground, on Dec. 16, 2014. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
