A WNBA game between the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky turned nasty on Saturday when Fever guard Sophie Cunningham was leveled on a breakaway layup by Sky guard DiJonai Carrington.
Carrington struck Cunningham across the face with her forearm after Cunningham had left her feet for a layup. Cunningham hit the ground hard, but quickly got to her feet and got in the face of Carrington, shoving the Sky player as she was held back by teammates.
After officials reviewed the play, Carrington was assessed a flagrant 2, resulting in an automatic ejection.
“The foul on DiJonai Carrington has flagrant foul penalty 2, since there’s wind-up, impact, and follow-through — high-potential for injury for players in a vulnerable position,” the referee announced to the crowd.
Carrington and the Chicago bench were stunned by the decision, but the ESPN commentators immediately expected a flagrant 2 to be called after the play. Carrington, however, was enraged and posted on social media from the locker room, “WHITE PRIVILEGE @indianafever.”
The incident comes as Cunningham has upset many players and coaches in the WNBA for her stance on keeping men out of women’s sports. Cunningham’s comments on protecting women’s sports have resulted in pushback from the WNBA media and even a WNBA head coach, including Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve, who wore a “Trans Kids Belong” shirt during her team’s game against Cunningham and the Fever earlier this week.
“I would encourage anyone to go and listen to Cheryl Reeve’s comments; incredibly thoughtful, easy to find online. I would just encourage anyone to go and listen,” ESPN Lobo color analyst Rebecca Lobo said of the issue of men in women’s sports.
Fans supporting Cunningham and her message have also faced backlash, including at a Fever game in Seattle last week when two teenage girls holding signs in support of Cunningham were harassed by Seattle fans and the Seattle Storm’s co-owner.
For her part, Cunningham has not backed down after the backlash.
“I’m not a very political person, but I do have beliefs,” she said. “I have morals, and I’ll always stand on those and be true to who I am, and I think people are going to take it how they want to take it. … When it comes to protecting young girls in sport and women in sport, I feel very strongly about that.”
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