Indiana Fever’s Sophie Cunningham has spoken out after nearly coming to blows with Chicago Sky’s DiJonai Carrington in an on-court showdown.
Carrington, 28, was ejected from Saturday’s WNBA game after capturing Cunningham’s head with her arm while trying to block a lay-up, sending the Fever guard sprawling to the ground. The move was upgraded from a common foul to a Flagrant 2 after review.
Right-wing darling Cunningham, after falling to the ground, hopped back up in attack mode, hitting out at Carrington as her teammates dragged her away.
Carrington was quick to hit back—via social media—writing on Threads soon after being ruled off the court: “WHITE PRIVILEGE,” and tagging Indiana Fever.
Cunningham, 29, told ESPN after the game that she believed Carrington’s foul was deliberate.
“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,” she said. “Clearly, I think it was like unnecessary... I don’t even know her....”
“But I do think when people play the Fever, we’re nationally televised, there’s a lot of eyes on us and people just want attention. And that’s her just trying to get attention,” she said.
Cunningham’s own coach, Stephanie White, had a very different take, telling reporters that while she thought it was the right move to call a hard foul, she didn’t think Carrington had intentionally clotheslined Cunningham.
“No one’s going to walk in for an easy layup,” she said.
Beyond her skill on the court, Cunningham has won fans in the MAGAsphere in recent weeks, gaining public support from the White House.
The athlete became embroiled in political drama last month after speaking against transgender women in sports, saying that she wanted to “protect young girls in a locker room.”
Following the comments, internet sleuths noticed that she had also liked numerous videos on TikTok speaking against illegal immigrants, touting rap music as “demonic,” and praising Trump’s unique style of Americana.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was quick to welcome Cunningham into the fold, praising her for “standing up for women and girls” and revealing that she had Trump’s support.
JD Vance also fawned over Cunningham for being part of the movement to “take our country back,” while conservatives moved to support the baller en masse after she was booed at a game for her anti-trans comments.
Despite being dubbed “MAGA Barbie” and seemingly playing into the role with gusto, Cunningham herself has only said that politically she agrees with things on “both sides, disagrees with things on both sides.”
