CHICAGO — DiJonai Carrington of the Chicago Sky was ejected Saturday after being called for a Flagrant 2 foul on Sophie Cunningham of the Indiana Fever. Minutes later, Carrington posted on social media the words “WHITE PRIVILEGE” and tagged the Fever.
Cunningham, who is white, was shooting a fast-break layup in the first quarter when Carrington, who is Black, came from behind and hit her in the head and neck, knocking her to the court as the shot went in.
Cunningham said she thought the foul in the 90-86 Indiana win was “absolutely” intentional.
“Clearly, I think it was unnecessary,” Cunningham said. “I’ve never really spoken to her and I have no beef with her, but I guess she has some pent up stuff.”
Fever coach Stephanie White had a different view of the play.
“It was a hard foul,” White said. “I don’t think that DiJonai intentionally came out to get her across the neck like she did, but it did happen, and I thought it was the right call.”
Cunningham got up immediately, charged toward Carrington and pushed her as she was held back by a teammate.
“I popped up,” Cunningham said. “I’m not going to let anyone just do that to me. I think everyone knows that. I think that’s why she did it, because she wants attention.”
The play was reviewed and upgraded to a Flagrant 2 after the referee said there was windup, impact and follow-through on the foul.
Sky coach Tyler Marsh said he hadn’t seen a replay of the play, but that seeing it live, he thought Carrington was making a play on the ball and that he didn’t believe it warranted a Flagrant 2 foul.
“I haven’t looked at that play since, so I really don’t know if it was justified or not,” he said. “But, that’s what I thought in the moment.”
Marsh was then asked about Carrington’s social media post.
“I have to get back to you on that because I’m just now hearing about that,” he said. “So yeah, we’ll handle that.”
But Cunningham had plenty to say about the post.
“I think the league is taking care of that,” she said. “This has nothing to do with race. Last year, I did the same thing and I got kicked out. And I deserved to be kicked out. There’s no reason even to play that card.”
In the third quarter, Fever star Caitlin Clark was assessed a technical foul after she made contact with a referee when she was forced out of bounds. The technical was Clark’s eighth of the season, triggering a one-game suspension for Indiana’s next game if not rescinded by the league.
“She said I ran into her,” Clark said in a postgame television interview. “I’ve already watched it on the tape, so we’ll let the league decide. But it wasn’t intentional or anything, so I’m hoping it’s getting rescinded,”
A few hours after the game, Clark got her way. The WNBA rescinded the technical foul.
Cunningham has frequently come to Clark’s defense after physical play by opponents and has become one of the higher-profile players in the league this season. In an ESPN article published last month, she voiced support for barring transgender girls and women from girls’ and women’s sports, which led to small protests and rallies outside Fever games in Seattle and Portland.
In a memo to teams on Friday, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said the league would have ongoing discussions about the issue of transgender participation in women’s basketball.
Marsh said that the controversy surrounding Cunningham didn’t add anything extra to the game.
“We didn’t come into this one with any more or less juice than we’ve had in the last four since the All-Star break,” he said. “Our mindset is trying to win games.”
