Sophie Cunningham
Sophie Cunningham

CHICAGO — Sophie Cunningham is speaking out after a hard foul from Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington sent the Indiana Fever guard to the floor and led to Carrington's ejection Saturday, with Cunningham calling the contact both unnecessary and intentional in the aftermath of Indiana's 90-86 win.

With about two minutes left in the first quarter, 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 across the head and neck as she went up for the layup. The shot went in, and after officials reviewed the contact, the foul was upgraded to a Flagrant 2, resulting in Carrington's automatic ejection.

Cunningham's response, on and off the court

Cunningham got up immediately, pushed Carrington and was pulled away by teammate Makayla Timpson as words were exchanged between the two players. Officials determined Cunningham's shove did not rise to the level of a technical foul, according to a pool report distributed after the game, which stated that referees "deemed her reaction to the severity of the contact to be acceptable."

Speaking with reporters afterward, Cunningham did not mince words about how she viewed the play. "From my point of view, I mean, clearly I think it was unnecessary," Cunningham said, according to The Athletic. "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 s— off. That's fine. I can take it."

Asked directly whether she believed the contact was deliberate, Cunningham didn't hesitate: "Yeah, it's intentional," she said, a characterization echoed across multiple outlets covering the game.

On her own physical response, Cunningham was unapologetic. "I'm not going to let anyone just do that to me. I think everyone knows that," she said.

Carrington's social media post

Shortly after heading to the locker room, Carrington posted "WHITE PRIVILEGE" in all capital letters on the social platform Threads and tagged the Fever's account. Carrington was not available for comment after the game, according to The Athletic.

Cunningham addressed the post directly when asked about it postgame. "Oh yeah, we saw it," she said. "I think the league is taking care of that. I mean, this has nothing to do with race. Last year I did the same thing, and I got kicked out, as I deserved to be kicked out. There's no reason to even play that card."

A pointed rebuttal on motive

Cunningham went further, suggesting Carrington's post and the physical exchange were less about any personal history between the two and more about the spotlight that follows the Fever wherever they play. "She has no reason to be doing any of that," Cunningham said. "Like, I don't even know her. She wasn't even on the team when all that was going on. But I do think when people play the Fever, we're nationally televised, there's a lot of eyes on us. People just want attention. And that's her just trying to get attention."

That comment referenced Cunningham's own history with a hard-foul incident during the 2025 season, when she chased down guard Jacy Sheldon — now a member of the Sky — on a breakaway and was ejected after applying a headlock to Sheldon during the ensuing scrum. Cunningham noted the inconsistency in drawing any racial connection to Saturday's ejection, pointing out that Carrington was not on the Connecticut Sun roster during that earlier incident and had no direct history with her.

Coach White weighs in

Fever head coach Stephanie White, who came onto the court to help calm the situation as it unfolded, offered a more measured read on Carrington's intent. "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."

Context: a season already under a microscope

Saturday's flare-up landed in the middle of an already tense stretch for Cunningham and the Fever. Cunningham has been at the center of controversy in recent weeks following comments she made in a published interview about transgender athletes in women's sports, a topic that has drawn organized protests outside Fever road games throughout the season. More demonstrators and counter-demonstrators gathered outside the United Center on Saturday, and Cunningham was greeted with a mixed chorus of cheers and boos when she checked into the game in the first quarter.

The tension didn't end with Carrington's ejection. Cunningham needed to be pulled away from a separate scuffle later in the game, this time by veteran teammate Monique Billings. "She's like, 'Quit being messy,'" Cunningham said, recounting Billings' message to her in the moment. "I'm like, 'You're right, Mo. This is time for me to be better.'"

Neither the WNBA nor the Chicago Sky had issued a formal statement addressing Carrington's social media post as of Saturday night. Flagrant fouls of this severity are typically subject to additional review by the league's basketball operations department, which can result in fines or supplemental discipline beyond the ejection itself. Indiana held on for the 90-86 win despite the first-quarter disruption, though the postgame fallout from Cunningham's comments and Carrington's post ensured the incident would continue generating attention well after the final buzzer.

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