Carrington ejected after hard foul on Fever's Cunningham

DiJonai Carrington was ejected after a Flagrant 2 foul on Sophie Cunningham at the United Center, a collision that came as Cunningham drove to the basket on a breakaway and took unnecessary arm contact to the face. The play immediately turned a Chicago Sky game against the Indiana Fever into another flashpoint over how the WNBA polices physical contact in high-profile matchups.

The ejection fit a pattern that has followed Fever games all season, where hard fouls, flagrant calls and referee decisions have drawn as much attention as the final score. Indiana had already beaten Chicago repeatedly in 2025, winning 93-58 on May 18, 93-78 on July 27, 92-70 on Aug. 9 and 97-77 on Sept. 5, results that underscored how often the two teams have been placed under a national spotlight.

Carrington’s foul also revived memories of Cunningham’s own role in a June 17, 2025 scuffle against the Connecticut Sun. In that game, Cunningham was ejected after a Flagrant 2 on Jacy Sheldon, and Sheldon and Lindsay Allen were also tossed. Officials described Cunningham’s contact in that altercation as “unnecessary and excessive,” and the league did not enforce suspensions after the incident, leaving questions about what discipline was enough to deter another escalation.

That backdrop made Carrington’s ejection more than a single-game ruling. Her later social media post, “white privilege,” added a racial dimension to the discussion and widened the debate beyond the court. The reaction reflected how quickly WNBA officiating disputes can become arguments about fairness, treatment of stars and the line between competitive intensity and dangerous play.

The Fever-Sky matchup has become one of the league’s most scrutinized settings, not only because of the physicality on the floor but because every hard foul now carries questions about consistency, accountability and whether referees are applying the same standard when emotions run highest. Carrington’s flagrant 2 in Chicago put those issues back at the center of the league conversation.