Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington said her flagrant foul Aug. 8 against Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham was unfortunate and unintentional. She also clarified her "white privilege" post on social
media was not in response to being given the foul.
"It’s just who I am. I’m never going to just let an open layup be had," Carrington told reporters Monday, Aug. 10, before the team's road game against the Seattle Storm. "You can pull clips from, I don’t know, however many seasons of me making that (play). Obviously I’m just coming back from injury, so maybe my timing or my lift wasn’t where it needs to get. It was unfortunate I made contact with her in the way that I did, but it was never intentional."
Carrington made her season debutfor the Sky on July 30 after recovering from a foot injury. She was ejected from their game against the Fever for a flagrant foul penalty 2, which is given for "unnecessary and excessive" contact, according to the WNBA rulebook.
Carrington, who is Black, fouled Cunningham from behind on a fast-break layup late in the first quarter of the nationally-televised game at the United Center in Chicago. Cunningham, who is white, was knocked to the court from the impact. The play was reviewed and upgraded to a flagrant 2 after officials determined Carrington wound up and followed through on the contact with Cunningham's head and neck.
Cunningham recently made headlines for her comments on transgender athletes, and Carrington emphasized that had nothing to do with the on-court situation.
"Look, it might happen again. That’s just how I play, I’m always going to go all out and try to get a stop," Carrington said. "But, like I said, I’m never intending to hurt somebody regardless of anything, outside noise or whatever the situation may be.”
DiJonai Carrington clarifies social media post
In the immediate aftermath of her ejection, Carrington posted “WHITE PRIVILEGE” on social media and tagged the Fever.
She then posted the date of the next Sky-Fever game, which will take place in Chicago on Aug. 23 (7 p.m. ET on NBC), and added a smiley face emoji.
During interviews Monday, she declined to elaborate on what she meant in her social media posts.
"I’ve already spoken to the people who have the potential to have the agency to make the change that I’m hoping comes about not just from this incident but ones in the past and ones that are obviously going to be coming up in the near future probably as well," Carrington said.
However earlier Monday evening, Carrington took to social media again in response to a video featuring Emmanuel Acho in which the former NFL linebacker said, "You can’t call that foul 'white privilege.'"
Carrington pushed back on Acho, writing, "I’ve never once claimed that the assessment of the foul was white privilege (that was your assumption). Try exercising your critical thinking skills, I know you studied psych."
She continued in her response to Acho, who currently hosts a youtube show on sports:
"Furthermore, I’m the LAST thing from ignorant or asinine when it comes to speaking on 'white privilege,' do ya research on that one. I actually went to school, one of the top universities might I add, to educate myself on this exact subject. I would never use that term as a rhetorical weapon knowing the historical and social weight it holds without having the proper evidence to substantiate it."
Carrington, 28, played for Stanford for four years and earned two degrees: a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Bachelor of Arts in African-American/Black Studies, before spending her final season of college ball at Baylor, where she earned a Masters of Education, according to her LinkedIn profile and Stanford women's basketball bio on the school's athletics website.
A 2021 second-round draft pick, Carrington won Most Improved Player and an All-Defensive First Team honors in 2024.
What did DiJonai Carrington discuss with the WNBA?
Carrington said she asked the WNBA for consistency in punishments for fouls but did not express optimism.
After the foul Aug. 8, Cunningham got up quickly and appeared to push and swipe at Carrington. Cunningham had to be held back by her teammates as she and Carrington continued attempting to make contact with one another.
"I would just love consistency across the board when it comes to things like that. Whether it’s the foul that I committed, whether it’s the reaction, the retaliation, I would just love it to be consistent across the board regardless of the name on your jersey or your skin color or the score of the game, the stakes whatever," Carrington said during interviews Monday. "I would love there to just be consistency when it comes to all of that. I don’t think we’re there yet. That’s something that I’ve talked to the league about as well. I think that will eliminate a lot of frustrations that we all have.
"I don’t feel encouraged. But that doesn’t mean you’re going to stop fighting for what I believe is right and that’s just consistency. I think everyone would benefit from that. We’re all here to play our hardest and win games. There is never mal-intent with any of these things."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What DiJonai Carrington said about flagrant foul on Sophie Cunningham, 'white privilege' post
