RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 7 sourcesIndiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) fights with Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington (7) after she was fouled during the first half at United Center. © Imagn
Sophie Cunningham has become the focal point of the debate around participation of trans athletes in the WNBA, and she has found herself getting criticized by a lot of her peers. During the game she had against the Chicago Sky, she got hit hard by DiJonai Carrington, leading to her ejection from the game. Carrington would then take to Threads to post “WHITE PRIVELEGE” after the game.
This post from her, which also tagged the Indiana Fever Threads account, received some pushback, including former Oklahoma wide receiver Jeffery Mead. On X, Mead posted a video calling Carrington out, stating that she was just punished over her very physical altercation with Cunningham.
“Maybe if she was focused on the ball and not Sophie’s head, she wouldn’t have been ejected,” he tweeted. “Accountability is like kryptonite for some.”
Sophie Cunningham attempted a right-handed layup during the first quarter of the game between the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky. This was when the Sky’s DiJonai Carrington came in from the left side and attempted to contest the layup but made hard contact with Cunningham’s face and neck area.
This sent the Fever guard crashing into the ground and she then went back up to confront Carrington before teammates separated them. Following a review, Carrington was assessed a Flagrant 2 and ejected. The Fever ultimately won 90-86.
Indiana Fever Coach Believes DiJonai Carrington Did Not Intentionally Foul Sophie Cunningham
After the game, Stephanie White weighed in on the Sophie Cunningham and DiJonai Carrington altercation and said that she believes that the ejection was fair because of how hard the hit was. However, she also stated that she believes that the foul was not intentional.
“It was a hard foul. I don’t think that DiJonai intentionally came out to get her across the neck like she did, but it did happen, and I thought it was the right call,” she said.
Many also questioned why Cunningham was not punished for trying to retaliate, but the official who made the call, Maj Forsberg, explained that Cunningham’s reaction was deemed proportional to the severity of the contact.
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