Cunningham was going for a breakaway layup when Carrington fouled her hard across the face
Aug 8, 2026
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5:31 pm ET
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1 min read
Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington was ejected after committing a flagrant-2 foul on Sophie Cunningham of the Indiana Fever late in the first quarter of Saturday’s game.
Cunningham was going for a breakaway layup attempt when Carrington went for the block. However, Carrington made contact with Cunningham’s face, causing her to take a hard fall.
When she got up, a visibly angry Cunningham went straight to Carrington but was held back by players and staff, with teammate Makayla Timpson the first to try to de-escalate the situation.
The play was initially ruled a flagrant-1 foul. But after a review, officials called the flagrant 2 on Carrington, and she was subsequently ejected.
At the time of her ejection, Carrington had been one of the biggest sparks for the Sky as she had eight points in just four minutes coming off the bench. This was only Carrington’s fifth game playing with the Sky this season due to a left foot sprain that delayed her debut.
After her ejection, Carrington posted on her Threads account, “WHITE PRIVILEGE,” and tagged the Fever.
Cunningham has been the subject of controversy in recent weeks after voicing support for barring transgender women from participating in women’s sports. Her public stance sparked rallies from both sides of the issue, as well as multiple discussions in the WNBA community.
As more voices joined in and the drama continued to grow, league commissioner Cathy Engelbert sent a memo this week to players and teams explaining how the WNBA is approaching the situation. The topic will be discussed at a previously scheduled meeting with WNBA presidents and general managers next week.
