"Brought tears to my eyes": Fans emotional as Sophie Cunningham and Fever make special gesture for injured Caitlin Clark and guard duo

Indiana fans were moved on Saturday as Sophie Cunningham and the Fever made a heartfelt gesture during their game against the Chicago Sky. The team left three empty spots in the lineup during the national anthem to honor injured teammates Caitlin Clark, Aari McDonald, and Sydney Sheldon.

This special act was highlighted by a fan on X (formerly Twitter), who re-shared a clip first posted by the WNBA's official account.

"They left empty spaces for the 3 injured players ❤️‍🩹," the fan wrote.

Fans were emotional at the sight of the wholesome gesture and reacted to it in the comments.

"This brought tears to my eyes," a fan expressed.

"Why did this bring tears to my eyes," another added.

"It’s my fault for having a phone this is so sweet 😭," reacted a third.

"Omg im gonna weep," commented a fourth.

"Just love this team. This will just make them stronger," added a fifth.

Although many fans were left feeling emotional few pointed out how, rivals would see this gesture in a negative light.

"Clearly there’s locker room issues and they don’t want to stand next to each other - someone probably," a fan wrote.

"Love that no matter what fanfics some people like to spin the ride together," expressed another.

The Fever showcased true camaraderie on Saturday, standing united for their injured teammates during rivalry week. Caitlin Clark missed her tenth consecutive game with a groin strain, while $90,000 guard Sydney Colson and $72,414 teammate Aari McDonald remained sidelined with ACL and foot injuries, respectively.

Sophie Cunningham stays positive despite the Fever's growing injury list

After Caitlin Clark's continued absence from the Fever roster due to a groin injury, guards Sydney Colson and Aari McDonald joined her on the injury list on Thursday. Colson was ruled out of the Fever's game against the Mercury at PHX Arena with an ACL injury, while McDonald was taken to the locker room during the fourth quarter of the game.

Despite the mounting injuries, Sophie Cunningham stayed positive while speaking to the media during the post-game conference.

"I think we faced some adversity with some injuries this game. But you know what? We're used to that. We've had that at the beginning of the year. This is just another hump that we're going to get over, and we're going to be okay," she said (Timestamp- 0:25 onwards).

The Fever will hope to welcome their injured stars to the lineup soon as they continue to battle for a playoff spot.

About the author

Arian Kashyap is a basketball journalist at Sportskeeda with over two years of experience at Essentially Sports and Spice Bite and a Bachelor's in Physical Education and Sports Sciences.

Arian's favorite team is the Miami Heat and it’s mainly down to Dwyane Wade being his favorite player of all time. Arian loved how explosive Wade was as a player and he had all the attributes, whether that be shooting, defending or passing. Arian really liked how he won titles both with and without a dynasty behind him.

Arian has also worked with Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools and was the manager for a Delhi-based women’s team called Garwhal Untied. Garwhal won the Delhi league and were runners-up during his tenure.

Arian has judged essay writing competitions for the Commonwealth Students Welfare Group of India in 2023 and was a part of the U-14 team for the Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools academy that qualified for the AIFF Round in 2023.

When not working or watching sports, Arian likes riding his motorcycle and reading.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash