Sophie Cunningham on conversation with Cheryl Reeve
Fever’s Sophie Cunningham shares what was discussed between her and Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve during their pre-game.
Sports Seriously
Chicago Sky forward DiJonai Carrington was assessed a flagrant 2 foul and ejected from a Saturday, Aug. 8 game against the visiting Indiana Fever after colliding at the basket with Sophie Cunningham and getting into a heated confrontation with the Fever guard.
The incident occurred with about two minutes left to play in the first quarter of the nationally televised game on ABC. Cunningham was charging toward the basket on a fast break and elevated for a layup attempt when Carrington fouled her from behind — her left forearm knocking Cunningham across the face — causing Cunningham to crash to the floor.
After the ball fell through the hoop, Cunningham got up and she and Carrington grabbed each other and began exchanging words.
Cunningham attempted a swipe at the Sky forward before being restrained by a Fever staff member and teammate Makayla Timpson.
Upon review, referees determined the foul was a flagrant 2 and ejected Carrington from the game.
In the locker room, Carrington posted to Threads: “WHITE PRIVILEGE @indianafever.”
The post was later taken down. Carrington then posted the date of the next Sky-Fever game on Aug. 23.
“I think the league is taking care of that,” Cunningham said, per ESPN. “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.”
A spokesperson for the WNBA did not immediately respond to a request for comment when reached by USA TODAY Sports about Carrington’s original post on Threads.
Fever head coach Stephanie White was asked about Carrington’s since-deleted social media post after the game.
“I don’t know anything about that, but no, no response,” White said.
Said Sky coach Tyler Marsh: “I have to get back to you on that because I’m just not hearing about that. So, you know, we’ll handle that.”
What Fever, Sky coaches, Cunningham said about foul
White, Marsh and Cunningham did comment on the foul that led to Carrington’s ejection.
“Yeah, I mean, look, 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. But one of the things about (Carrington) is that she’s going to play her butt off, man. She’s going to compete. Nobody’s going to go walking in for a layup. And so I don’t oppose the hard foul, but I also don’t think that she intentionally went for the neck.”
Said Marsh: “In the moment, I thought that she made a play on the ball. I didn’t think it warranted a Flagrant 2. I didn’t see the replay when it happened, so that was my initial thoughts,” Marsh said of Carrington’s ejection. “I haven’t looked at that play since, so I really don’t know if it was justified or not.”
Cunningham thought the play was “unnecessary.”
“I’ve never really spoken to (Carrington) and have no beef with her, but I guess she has some pent up stuff. So get your (expletive) off. That’s fine. I can take it,” Cunningham said. “Yeah, it’s intentional… 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. And that’s her just trying to get attention.”
Carrington wasn’t made available for the postgame news conference.
Carrington was having a good game at the time of the ejection, having scored eight points on 3-for-3 shooting. The Fever went on to win 90-86 behind 26 points and 11 assists from Caitlin Clark, who picked up her eighth technical foul of the season and will serve a one-game suspension if the foul is not rescinded. Cunningham finished with three points, two steals and one rebound in 17 minutes of action.
Cunningham has drawn attention and grabbed headlines in recent weeks following comments she made about transgender athletes participating in women’s sports. Before Saturday’s game, a rally was organized outside of the United Center in Chicago by XX-XY Athletics, which bills itself as a brand that’s “here to protect women’s sports and spaces.” In a news release, XX-XY said the rally was “in Support of Sophie Cunningham.”
Among the voices who have criticized Cunningham for her comments is former U.S. women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe. In a video posted to Rapinoe’s Instagram on Friday outlining her critique of Cunningham, Carrington left a comment that said, “Clock it , Megan!”