CHICAGO — Based on her own experience, Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham thinks DiJonai Carrington’s Flagrant 2 foul on her was definitely intentional.
“Absolutely, I mean, that’s like what I did last year, but I made my layup,” Cunningham said postgame, referring to her fight with now-Sky guard Jacy Sheldon while Sheldon was on the Connecticut Sun last year that resulted in a Flagrant 2 and ejection for Cunningham.
“And yeah, it’s intentional,” she continued. “But I mean, (Carrington) wasn’t even on (the Sun last year), she has no reason to be doing any of that. So, good way to get her kicked out, and that’s what they did. So, it’s fine.”
Carrington was not made available or required to speak as a result of her ejection in Saturday’s 90-86 Fever win. She was ejected just eight minutes in after she hit Cunningham in the face with her arm while Cunningham was going for a layup. Cunningham fell to the ground, then immediately popped back up to confront Carrington.
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“I’m not gonna let anyone just do that to me,” Cunningham said. “I think everyone knows that. I think that’s why she did it, because she wants attention, I mean, shit, like, people start craving attention, like go get it somewhere else. Like, go do something good in the world.”
Cunningham slightly pushed Carrington in the chest and got a few words in before teammate Makayla Timpson and Fever security pulled her away.
“Just to protect her, that’s it,” Timpson said postgame as Fever coach Stephanie White smiled and squeezed her bicep. “You know, I got my teammate.”
Cunningham also thought Carrington’s hard foul has something to do with the amount of attention the Fever get on a day-by-day basis. They have a noticeable fan presence everywhere they go, even on the road, and every one of their 44 games this season are nationally televised.
Saturday’s game was in ABC’s prime slot at 3:30 p.m. and included the No. 1 broadcasting team of Ryan Ruocco, Rebecca Lobo and Holly Rowe.
“I do think, you know, when people play the Fever, we’re nationally televised, there’s a lot of eyes on us, and people just want attention,” Cunningham said. “And that’s her just trying to get attention.”
Carrington looked surprised after the officiating team called it a Flagrant 2, and she walked off the court to cheers from Sky fans at the United Center.
In a pool report postgame, crew chief Maj Forsberg said, “the criteria for a flagrant foul penalty 2 was met since the contact was deemed unnecessary and excessive to a player in a vulnerable position.”
White, who coached Carrington for two years in Connecticut from 2023-24, thought the foul and ensuing ejection was fair. But she also gave Carrington the benefit of the doubt on her intent.
“I mean, look, it was a hard foul,” White said. “I don’t think 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. But one of the things about Nai is that she’s gonna play her butt off, she’s gonna compete, nobody’s gonna go walking in for a layup. I’m not gonna oppose the hard foul, but I also don’t think that she intentionally went for the neck.”
Carrington was active on social media after she was ejected, posting “WHITE PRIVILEGE @IndianaFever” on Threads and “8/23”, the date of the next Fever-Sky game, on Twitter.
“I think the league is taking care of that. I mean, this has nothing to do with race,” Cunningham said. “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.”
The Fever and Sky will play again on Aug. 23 at Wintrust Arena, which will be the final game of a five-game road trip and second of a back-to-back for the Fever.
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at chloe.peterson@indystar.com. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar TV: Fever for in-depth analysis, behind-the-scenes coverage and more.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Why Sophie Cunningham thinks DiJonai Carrington’s hard foul was intentional, shakes off race post
Reporting by Chloe Peterson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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By Chloe Peterson, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
