Cheap Shot Artist Forgot to Look at Her Own Head Before She Gave Her Excuse for Targeting Sophie Cunningham

Robert Karlsson Nordberg image via Shutterstock
Robert Karlsson Nordberg image via Shutterstock

WNBA fans still remember the cheap shot Chennedy Carter landed on Caitlin Clark last year.

This weekend a Chicago Sky player delivered an even uglier hit.

What she blamed for that ejection is not going to sit well with anyone who saw the replay.

Carrington Hits Cunningham Above the Neck and Gets Ejected

Saturday night in Indiana, DiJonai Carrington caught Sophie Cunningham across the face on a fast break layup.

Cunningham was airborne when the contact landed.

Officials didn't hesitate.

They ruled it a flagrant 2 and tossed Carrington from the game on the spot.

The Fever finished off Chicago 90 to 86 anyway, but the foul was the story everyone was talking about walking out of the arena.

Cunningham didn't sugarcoat it afterward.

"Clearly, I think it was like unnecessary," she said.

"Yeah, it's intentional."

Simple as that.

Carrington Blames White Privilege Instead Of Her Own Foul

Instead of owning the ejection, Carrington logged onto Threads and posted two words: "White Privilege."

She tagged the Indiana Fever on her way out the door.

Sophie Cunningham had heard enough.

She said Carrington "has no reason to be doing any of that" and that "people just want attention."

She reminded everyone that the officials treated her exactly the same way when she committed a hard foul last season.

"This has nothing to do with race," Cunningham said.

"Last year, I did the same thing and I got kicked out."

The referees didn't see Carrington's skin color.

They saw a player deliver a shot to the face and reach for the ejection paperwork.

Carrington reached for a grievance instead.

Of course, the internet immediately commented on Carrington’s apparent “cultural appropriation” of whiteness.

Conservative commentator Jason Whitlock pointed out the difference before and after Carrington got to the WNBA.

Whether it was Stanford, the WNBA or both, something changed.

But even Carrington's own coach couldn't back her up cleanly.

Chicago's Tyler Marsh said he "didn't think it warranted a flagrant 2," defending a hit that left an opponent holding her face on the floor.

Indiana's own coach, Stephanie White, called the ejection "the right call."

Pick a lane.

Caitlin Clark Has Been Absorbing Cheap Shots Since Day One

This isn't an isolated incident, and Cunningham knows it.

Chennedy Carter clotheslined Caitlin Clark off the ball last year, and the WNBA had to upgrade that foul to a flagrant after the fact because the on court officials botched the call in real time.

Carrington herself is no stranger to this pattern, having been accused of catching Clark in the eye during the 2024 playoffs.

Clark took hit after hit her rookie season while the league dragged its feet on protecting its biggest star.

OutKick has tracked the pattern for over a year now, and it's the same story every time.

A rival player takes a shot at the Fever, gets caught, and the sports media spends more energy explaining away the foul than covering the players who actually got hurt.

That's exactly what happened again this weekend.

A player got ejected for a dangerous, above the neck hit on live television, and instead of the story being about her recklessness, cable networks and beat writers spent the news cycle debating whether Sophie Cunningham benefits from privilege.

Nobody stopped to ask why DiJonai Carrington gets to swing an accusation with zero evidence and walk away looking sympathetic.

Cunningham, the one actually left holding her face, gets lectured about tone instead.

The WNBA's Growth Story Has A Grievance Problem

This is where the WNBA's growth story runs into a wall.

Caitlin Clark is filling arenas and driving television ratings the league hasn't seen in decades.

The response from a chunk of players and sympathetic media has been to manufacture racial grievance rather than clean up the physical play.

Commissioner Cathy Engelbert can talk all she wants about protecting her product.

Every time the league lets a "White Privilege" post replace an actual conversation about a flagrant foul, she's telling every rising star exactly how these situations get spun.

Sophie Cunningham just proved you don't have to accept the spin.

Sources:

  • OutKick, "Sophie Cunningham Speaks Out Against Dijonai Carrington 'White Privilege' Post After Flagrant Foul," Fox News, August 2026.
  • OutKick, "WNBA Media Defends DiJonai Carrington After Dangerous Sophie Cunningham Hit Reveals Glaring Bias," Fox News, August 2026.
  • OutKick, "Sports Media Hits All-Time Low In Coverage Of DiJonai Carrington And Sophie Cunningham," Fox News, August 2026.
  • OutKick, "Caitlin Clark Hard Contact Timeline: WNBA's Growing History Of Brutal Hits Against The Face Of The Sport," Fox News, August 2026.
  • Fox News, "Caitlin Clark Says 'No Grudges' After Chennedy Carter's Flagrant Foul: 'People Are Competitive'," Fox News, June 2024.

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