Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham criticized Chicago Sky star DiJonai Carrington for suggesting Cunningham benefited from white privilege following Saturday's game. Carrington was ejected from the clash after a foul left Cunningham bloodied on the floor. The Fever won the matchup 90-86.
Toward the end of the first quarter, Cunningham drove towards the basket and was struck in the face by Carrington's arm. Officials assessed Carrington a flagrant 2 foul after reviewing the incident and sent her to the locker room. Both Cunningham and her teammate Caitlin Clark were seen waving as Carrington headed to the locker room.
Following the hit, Cunningham climbed to her feet and attempted to confront Carrington before teammates and staff dragged her away. Courtside footage appeared to show Cunningham calling her rival a "dumb a** b****" and shouting: "Why the f*** would you do that?"
Minutes later, Carrington posted on social media: "WHITE PRIVILEGE @indianafever." After the game, Cunningham dismissed the comment while speaking to ESPN.
Reaction to the white privilege claim
"I think the league is taking care of that. This has nothing to do with race," Cunningham told ESPN. "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."
The Daily Mail has contacted the WNBA for comment regarding the incident.
Cunningham described the foul as unnecessary and claimed Carrington was seeking attention. "Clearly, I think it was like unnecessary. I've never really spoken to her and have no beef with her, but I guess she has some pent up stuff," Cunningham said. "So get your s*** off. That's fine. I can take it."
She added that games against Indiana draw heavy television coverage. "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," Cunningham said.
Cunningham also noted that Carrington was not on Chicago's roster during previous incidents. "I don't even know her. She wasn't even on the team last year when all that was going on... it's intentional. She wasn't even on the team. She has no reason to be doing any of that. So, good way to get her kicked out," she said.
Despite her angry reaction on the court, Cunningham insisted she was not upset. "I wasn't even upset... I popped up. I'm not going to let anyone just do that to me. I think everyone knows that," Cunningham said. "I think that's why she did it because she wants attention. I mean, s***, people have started craving attention. Like, go get it somewhere else. Go do something good in the world."
Recent controversies and player background
Cunningham has been at the center of a sporting and political firestorm in recent weeks following comments she made about transgender athletes. The Fever star said she wants to "protect young girls" from "biological men," which sparked demonstrations alongside support from figures including JD Vance.
The incident also marks another controversy involving Carrington and an Indiana star. In 2024, while playing for the Connecticut Sun, Carrington left Clark with a black eye after poking the Fever guard in the face. No foul was called and Clark insisted the eye poke "wasn't intentional," while Carrington later appeared to mock the incident by staging a dramatic recreation on a social media stream.
