DiJonai Carrington
DiJonai Carrington

CHICAGO — Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington was ejected Saturday after committing a Flagrant 2 foul on Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham, then posted "WHITE PRIVILEGE" on social media minutes later, deepening a fiery incident that briefly turned physical on the court during Indiana's 90-86 win.

With about two minutes left in the first quarter and Chicago leading 18-17, Cunningham broke free on a fast break with a clear path to the basket. Carrington, trailing the play, caught up to her and struck her in the side of the head and neck with her left arm as Cunningham went up for the layup. The shot went in, and Cunningham added a free throw after officials reviewed the play and upgraded the foul to a Flagrant 2.

A physical confrontation follows

Cunningham got up immediately, charged toward Carrington and shoved her before being pulled back by teammates. Fever forward Makayla Timpson and team staffers held Cunningham away from Carrington as tensions escalated, while Indiana head coach Stephanie White came onto the court to help calm the situation.

The officiating crew reviewed the contact and determined there was windup, impact and follow-through on the foul — the standard used to elevate a call to a Flagrant 2, which results in automatic ejection. Carrington's night ended just four minutes into her appearance off the bench, during which she had scored eight points on 3-of-3 shooting and helped Chicago outscore Indiana by six points while she was on the floor.

Carrington's social media post

Minutes after leaving the court, Carrington posted "WHITE PRIVILEGE" in all capital letters on the social platform Threads and tagged the Fever's account, a message that quickly spread across sports social media and drew reactions from both teams' fan bases.

Cunningham responds directly

Speaking to reporters after the game, Cunningham rejected any suggestion that race played a role in the officiating decision or her own reaction. "I think the league is taking care of that. This has nothing to do with race," Cunningham said, according to Fox News' OutKick. "Last year, I did the same thing and I got kicked out. And I deserved to be kicked out."

Asked directly whether she believed the foul was intentional, Cunningham did not hesitate. "Clearly, I think it was unnecessary," she said. "I've never really spoken to her and I have no beef with her, but I guess she has some pent up stuff." She added, "Yeah, it's intentional."

Cunningham also pushed back on the idea that the incident was personal, suggesting instead that Carrington was seeking a moment in the spotlight. "She has no reason to be doing any of that. I don't even know her," Cunningham said. "But I do think when people play the Fever, we're nationally televised, there's a lot of eyes on us and people just want attention."

On her own decision to confront Carrington physically after the whistle, Cunningham said, "I popped up. 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."

Fever coach calls it a hard, not intentional, foul

White, addressing the play afterward, characterized it as a hard foul rather than a deliberate attempt to injure Cunningham. "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."

A season already under scrutiny

The incident adds another chapter to what has already been an unusually charged season for the Fever, one of the WNBA's most popular yet polarizing teams. Cunningham has been at the center of a broader league controversy in recent weeks stemming from comments she made in an ESPN profile about transgender athletes in women's sports, a topic that has drawn organized demonstrations outside Fever road games, including in Seattle.

Carrington herself was not with the Fever organization during that earlier period of controversy, having played for other teams before joining Chicago. Cunningham noted as much in her postgame comments, pointing out that Carrington "wasn't even on the team last year when all that was going on."

What happens next

Neither the WNBA nor the Chicago Sky had issued a formal statement addressing Carrington's social media post as of Saturday night. Under league rules, flagrant fouls of this nature are subject to further review by the WNBA's basketball operations department, which can result in additional fines or suspensions beyond the ejection itself.

The Fever improved to 90-86 in Saturday's outcome despite the first-quarter disruption, with Indiana unable to capitalize immediately on the extra possession that followed Carrington's ejection, missing both attempts on the ensuing trip down the floor. Chicago regrouped without Carrington for the remainder of the contest, while the postgame comments from both Cunningham and White ensured the flashpoint would dominate coverage of the matchup well after the final buzzer.

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