Indiana Fever guard/forward Sophie Cunningham was on the receiving end of a harsh Flagrant 2 foul from Chicago Sky‘s DiJonai Carrington, who then went and attacked her on social media.
Carrington was ejected from the game in the first quarter after she intentionally clocked Cunningham, who was going for an open layup.
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The 28-year-old Sky guard/forward would take to social media during the game from the locker room and made a comment about ‘white privilege,’ tagging the Indiana Fever.
Sophie Cunningham responds to DiJonai Carrington after the Fever game
Cunningham spoke about Carrington’s comments after the game, highlighting that there was no reason to bring race into this and that the league will likely take care of this situation.
“Oh yeah, we saw it. I think the league is taking care of that. I mean, this has nothing to do with race. Last year I did the same thing, and I got kicked out, as I deserved to be kicked out. There’s no reason to even play that card.”
She also discussed the foul itself, admitting she doesn’t know where that came from, given the lack of a personal relationship between the pair.
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“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.”
Sophie Cunningham’s media firestorm continues to follow her
Cunningham was one of the main reasons that the debate over trans women being included in the WNBA started.
Photo by David Berding/Getty Images
Her opposition to trans inclusion led to protests and media attention that have now led to former NBA role players declaring for the WNBA Draft.
Whether Carrington’s reasons for fouling Cunningham stem from her political views or it was just an enforcer sending a message early in the game is unclear, but given Carrington;s post-game comments, this is deeper than basketball.
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The Fever have made their desire to focus on basketball clear, with Cunningham saying the same in recent interviews. But the non-basketball attention they have attracted is likely to follow Cunningham for the foreseeable future.
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