WNBA Star's Joke Raises $10,182 for Charity

Sophie Cunningham's joke about WNBA fines turned into a $10,182 act of kindness in October 2025. The Indiana Fever guard had been fined multiple times for speaking out against league officiating and was joking about using a GoFundMe to pay off the fines or buy a yacht.

The fundraiser quickly went viral, with 171 people donating over five days, raising a total of $10,182. Cunningham decided not to use the money to pay her own fines, but instead donated it all to Ronald McDonald House Charities, an organization that provides support for families facing difficult medical situations.

Cunningham had a personal connection to the charity, having visited a Ronald McDonald House in Chicago in 2015 as a teenager. She met with a family who had a child with leukemia and volunteered to visit other children at the hospital.