Things got tense on the court between the Fever and Sky on Saturday.
And one player was shown an early exit.
The Sky’s DiJonai Carrington was assessed a flagrant 2 foul and ejected from the game during the first quarter after a hard foul against the Fever’s Sophie Cunningham.
Cunningham attempted a layup with around two minutes left in the quarter, and as she went up, Carrington whacked her from behind up high and hit the Fever guard in the face.
Referees reviewed the shooting foul and determined, after looking at a replay, that Carrington committed a flagrant 2, meaning they felt the foul was “unnecessary” and “excessive.”
“Clearly, I think it was like unnecessary,” Cunningham told reporters after scoring three points with two steals in the Fever’s 90-86 win. “I’ve never really spoken to her and have no beef with her, but I guess she has some pent-up stuff. … That’s fine. I can take it.”
Carrington stood on the Chicago bench with her mouth open in what appeared to be disbelief.
Cunningham was shown on the broadcast clapping her hands as her opponent was removed from the ballgame.
After her ejection, Carrington took to her Threads account and wrote: “WHITE PRIVILEGE @indianafever.”
“This has nothing to do with race,” Cunningham told reporters. “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.”
Fever coach Stephanie White believed the referees made the right decision, even if she didn’t believe Carrington was trying to be malicious.
“It was a hard foul,” White said. “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.”
Cunningham has generated plenty of headlines in recent weeks over her comments on transgender athletes in women’s sports.
“I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men,” Cunningham told ESPN in a lengthy interview at the end of July.
The WNBA, in a memo obtained by the Associated Press, said a regularly scheduled task force convening next week will discuss the topic of transgender athletes in sports.
In recent days, Cunningham told reporters she preferred if the media focused more on the on-the-court issues than what she said off it.
“So, it is what it is. And like I said, we’re in the middle of the season,” she said this week. “I’m gonna keep at that. We talk about a bunch of distraction; our team is good, my teammates are good, our locker room is great. And so, now we’re just here, about to prepare for Las Vegas. And that’s where my mind is at.”
Cunningham has had her supporters, including former collegiate swimmer and current activist Riley Gaines, but has faced some pushback, including from former United States women’s soccer star Megan Rapinoe.
“I don’t know Sophie, so I can only project what I see about her beliefs based on her actions,” Rapinoe said on her “Why Are You Like This” podcast. “And seeing a picture of her with Riley Gaines after the game told me everything I need to know about what’s happening.”
On an Instagram post of the episode, Carrington commented: “Clock it, Megan.”

source: https://nypost.com/2026/08/08/sports/dijonai-carrington-ejected-after-hard-foul-against-sophie-cunningham-in-wild-scene/