Sky’s DiJonai Carrington ejected after hard foul to face of Fever’s Sophie Cunningham

Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington was ejected after committing a flagrant-2 foul on Sophie Cunningham of the Indiana Fever late in the first quarter of Saturday’s game, a 90-86 victory for Indiana.

Cunningham was going for a breakaway layup attempt when Carrington went for the block. However, Carrington made contact with Cunningham’s face, causing her to take a hard fall.

When she got up, a visibly angry Cunningham went straight to Carrington but was held back by players and staff, with teammate Makayla Timpson the first to try to de-escalate the situation. 

The play was initially ruled a flagrant-1 foul. But after a review, officials called the flagrant 2 on Carrington, and she was subsequently ejected.

At the time of her ejection, Carrington had been one of the biggest sparks for the Sky as she had eight points in just four minutes coming off the bench. This was only Carrington’s fifth game playing with the Sky this season due to a left foot sprain that delayed her debut.

After her ejection, Carrington posted on her Threads account, “WHITE PRIVILEGE,” and tagged the Fever. She later also posted “8/23” on social media, which is the next date the teams will face each other.

Fever coach Stephanie White said she believed it was a hard foul, but also made it clear she didn’t think Carrington had hit Cunningham intentionally.

“One of the things about Nai is that she is going to play her butt off. She is going to compete,” White, who coached Carrington from 2023-24 in Connecticut, said postgame. “Nobody is going to come walking in for a layup. I don’t oppose the hard foul, but I also don’t think that she intentionally went for the neck.”

WNBA rescinds Caitlin Clark’s eighth technical foul as Fever star avoids suspension for upcoming Liberty game

Isabel Gonzalez

However, Cunningham said she believed it was “intentional” and that Carrington was “trying to get attention.”

“Clearly, I think it was like unnecessary,” Cunningham said, per ESPN. “I’ve never really spoken to her and have no beef with her, but I guess she has some pent up stuff. So get your shit off. That’s fine. I can take it.”

In response to Carrington’s post on Threads, Cunningham said the ejection “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,” Cunningham said. 

Cunningham has been the subject of controversy in recent weeks after voicing support for barring transgender women from participating in women’s sports. Her public stance sparked rallies from both sides of the issue, as well as multiple discussions in the WNBA community. 

As more voices joined in and the drama continued to grow, league commissioner Cathy Engelbert sent a memo this week to players and teams explaining how the WNBA is approaching the situation. The topic will be discussed at a previously scheduled meeting with WNBA presidents and general managers next week.

Sky coach Tyler Marsh was asked if the controversy surrounding the Fever had added to any emotions or led to conversations ahead of the game, but he said Carrington was just a passionate player and his team has just been playing hard to try to make the postseason.

“No. We are fighting for our lives to try to make the playoffs,” Marsh said. “DiJonai is a passionate player just like most of the players on our team … Our mindset is trying to win games. As a player and as a coaching staff. That’s where I was at going into this game and that’s where we will be moving forward. You hope that Sophie is OK and that nobody is really injured. At the same time, I don’t think there is ill intent on our end.”