Chicago Sky’s standout player, DiJonai Carrington, seems eager for another showdown with Sophie Cunningham following their recent altercation, which stirred controversy within the WNBA.
Carrington was thrust into the spotlight and ignited a racial debate after being expelled for a harsh foul on Cunningham. Subsequently, Carrington implied that her adversary had the upper hand due to ‘white privilege.’
Following the Indiana Fever’s tight 90-86 victory over the Sky, Cunningham criticized Carrington, accusing her of exploiting the racial narrative for attention.
But Carrington does not appear ready to back down. Following the game, she took to social media once more, posting ‘8/23’ alongside a smiling emoji.
Carrington’s social media post, which has garnered nearly 2 million views, hints at the anticipated clash between the Fever and Sky set for August 23. This followed Carrington’s bold statement from the locker room on Threads, declaring: ‘WHITE PRIVILEGE @indianafever.’
The tension escalated towards the end of the first quarter when Cunningham drove towards the hoop, only to be met with Carrington’s arm to her face, leaving the Fever star on the floor, injured and bleeding.
DiJonai Carrington was ejected for this foul on Sophie Cunningham during the Fever-Sky clash
A furious Cunningham had to be held back after she was floored by the nasty collision
After the game, Carrington posted ‘8/23’ in an apparent reference to the next Sky-Fever clash
Carrington was assessed a flagrant 2 and sent to the locker room, with both Cunningham and her teammate Caitlin Clark seen waving as the Sky star headed to off the court.
When asked about her rival’s ‘WHITE PRIVILEGE’ comments, Cunningham told ESPN: ‘I think the league is taking care of that. 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.’
The Daily Mail has contacted the WNBA for comment.
On the incident, Cunningham added: ‘Clearly, I think it was unnecessary. 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.’
Cunningham suggested Carrington was simply ‘craving’ attention. ‘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,’ she continued.
‘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.’
Immediately following the foul, Cunningham climbed to her feet and attempted to confront Carrington, only for teammates and staff to drag her away.
Footage from courtside appeared to show Cunningham calling her rival a ‘dumb a** b****’ and shouting: ‘Why the f*** would you do that?’
The Indiana Fever star was left bloodied by the incident, which provoked a furious reaction
Carrington was ejected after the officials reviewed the foul and upgraded it to a flagrant 2
After the game, however, Cunningham insisted: ‘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. 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.’
It is not the first time that Carrington has been embroiled in a controversy involving one of the league’s biggest stars.
Back in 2024, while playing for the Connecticut Sun, she 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.