Carrington ejected for hard foul on Cunningham, then posts White privilege

DiJonai Carrington was ejected from the Chicago Sky’s 90-86 loss to the Indiana Fever at the United Center after a hard foul on Sophie Cunningham, then posted “WHITE PRIVILEGE” on social media minutes later and tagged the Fever. The sequence pushed a single first-half play into a wider debate over race, intent and how quickly player posts now shape the story around a WNBA game.

Carrington, a Sky guard who had missed the first 27 games of the season because of injury, came from behind as Cunningham drove on a fast-break layup and hit her in the head and neck area as the shot went in. Officials upgraded the contact to a Flagrant 2 and tossed Carrington in the first quarter. Indiana’s win was its 20th of the season and dropped Chicago to its eighth defeat.

The reaction spread immediately across sports media and social platforms, with the foul and the post becoming part of the national conversation by the next day. Coverage noted the racial context that surrounded the online post: Cunningham is white, Carrington is Black. That detail, combined with the words Carrington chose, made the incident resonate beyond the box score and fed a broader argument about how physical play is interpreted in the league.

Sophie Cunningham answered by saying Carrington was “just trying to get attention,” while Fever coach Stephanie White was asked about the foul and said she did not oppose the hard foul. The comments added to a rivalry atmosphere that has already been intensified by heightened attention around the Fever and the Sky, including the spotlight on Indiana stars like Caitlin Clark, Kelsey Mitchell and NaLyssa Smith and Chicago’s own Ariel Atkins.

Carrington’s name was already under scrutiny before Friday’s game. In 2024, she drew fresh attention after a report said she mocked Clark for flopping, and that earlier episode has helped keep her actions under a harsher public lens. This latest ejection ensured that the play itself did not stand alone; the post after it carried the argument well beyond the court.