RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White had a unique take on Chicago Sky’s DiJonai Carrington getting ejected after a hard foul on Sophie Cunningham.
Carrington would wipe Cunningham out on a fastbreak layup attempt in the first quarter, slamming her arm into Cunningham’s neck as she went up in the air to lay it up.
The 28-year-old Sky guard would get ejected for her foul and would make aggressive social media comments about the incident later, but coach White viewed the situation differently.
Fever’s Stephanie White defends the foul on Sophie Cunningham
While most viewers, including Cunningham, believe Carrington’s Flagrant 2 foul was intentional, coach White believes it was just a competitive action and not an intentional hard foul.
“One of the things about Nai (DiJonai Carrington) is that she’s going to compete. No one’s going to walk in for an easy layup, so I don’t oppose the hard foul. But I also don’t think she intentionally went for the neck.”
It is surprising to see Coach White not stand up for her current player, Cunningham, and try to explain the intentions of Carrington as something that’s positive.
Physicality should be encouraged, but this play clearly crossed the line, and the official rightfully judged it as worthy of an ejection in the moment.
A coach would usually stick up for their own player in a situation like this, but White’s comments clearly try to soften the blow on Carrington’s end.
DiJonai spent two seasons under White on the Connecticut Sun, so the coach’s defense for her former player makes a little more sense. However, she likely should have prioritized her current player in Cunningham here.
Sophie Cunningham’s reaction to the foul
Cunningham spoke to the media after the game and said Carrington’s foul was clearly unnecessary, but also made it clear that she can handle potshots from opponents if required.
Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images
“From my point of view, I mean 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.”
“I don’t even know her. She wasn’t even on the team when all that was going on. But I do think when people play the Fever, we’re nationally televised, there’s a lot of eyes on us. People just want attention. And that’s her just trying to get attention.”
Cunningham ended the game with three points, one rebound, and two steals in 17 minutes, ending the game with a -28 plus/minus.
Carrington had eight points on 3-3 shooting in four minutes of the first quarter before she was ejected for her foul, as the Sky lost 86-90.
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