The WNBPA is blocking its licensed brands from turning Sophie Cunningham’s viral point at DeWanna Bonner into merchandise, even as Cunningham herself remains free to monetize the moment through her own rights. The union’s decision puts a hard line around one of the most recognizable sports memes of the past month.
That matters now because the image has already traveled far beyond the court. Cunningham said on July 3 that she did not think twice when she saw an official White House account use the image in a late June video, and she also appeared earlier this month as a guest ring girl at UFC 329. After the pointing incident, she gained nearly a million Instagram followers, a sign of how quickly the moment escaped the game and became internet currency.
The viral scene came during a June 24 game between the Mercury and Indiana Fever, when Cunningham and Bonner pointed at one another during an on-court scuffle after Bonner and Caitlin Clark were tied up. Earlier in the game, Alyssa Thomas struck Caitlin Clark in the throat and was retroactively suspended, a flashpoint that helped turn the evening into a leaguewide conversation rather than just another regular-season game. Once Cunningham’s reaction spread, it became a meme used by celebrities and other athletes, which is exactly why brands moved so fast to catch up.
The WNBPA, though, is drawing a different boundary for its business partners. A spokesperson said the union generally does not feature or look to monetize player conduct from a confrontation between its members, and it has dozens of licensed brands, including 2K, Breaking T, Lids and Panini. That means a partner inside the union’s licensing system cannot simply package the point as a product, even if the image is already everywhere online.
That is the friction at the center of the story. Cunningham can still license the moment herself through her own NIL rights, and players can individually sign sponsorship deals with any brand even if the WNBPA refuses to approve a brand deal with one of its partners. The union said players are free to create and/or license their own product, which leaves Cunningham in the unusual position of being able to profit from the same viral gesture that her union is preventing its licensees from selling. What remains unclear is whether she will choose to do that, or whether the moment will stay as a meme that the internet adopted faster than the business side could.
