Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington was ejected from her side’s WNBA defeat by Indiana Fever for committing a hard foul on Sophie Cunningham, and subsequently posted “white privilege” on social media.
Carrington caught Cunningham across the left side of the head with her arm as the Indiana Fever guard attempted a right-handed layup late in the opening quarter in Chicago.
Cunningham hit the ground hard but immediately got up to confront Carrington before team-mates separated them.
The foul was upgraded to a flagrant two foul after review and Carrington was automatically ejected from the match after scoring eight points in four minutes from the bench.
Shortly after leaving the game, Carrington wrote “WHITE PRIVILIGE” on social media platform Threads, tagging Indiana Fever in the post.
Asked about the post after her team won 90-86, Cunningham said: “I think the league is taking care of that.
“This has nothing to do with race. Last year, I did the same thing and I got kicked out, and I deserved to be kicked out. There’s no reason even to play that card.”
When told of the post, Sky coach Tyler Marsh added: “I have to get back to you on that because I’m just now hearing about that. So yeah, we’ll handle that.”
Speaking about the foul, Cunningham added: “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 [stuff] off. That’s fine – I can take it.”
Fever coach Stephanie White said: “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.”
Referee Maj Forsberg said Cunningham was not penalised for her reaction because “we deemed her reaction to the severity of the contact to be acceptable”.
Cunningham has become the subject of controversy in recent weeks for her comments on transgender athletes participating in women’s sport.
It has led to people showing up inside and outside of Fever games, some to protest against Cunningham and others to express support.
Meanwhile, Fever star Caitlin Clark will avoid a one-match suspension after a technical foul called on her during the third quarter was rescinded after the match.
The technical foul – called when Clark ran into an official after making a pass having been bumped by a defender – would have been her eighth of the season, which triggers an automatic suspension.