With two minutes remaining in the first quarter of the Fever's eventual 90-86 win on Saturday night, Carrington delivered a very hard foul on Cunningham underneath the basket.The foul was upgraded to a Flagrant 2, resulting in Carrington's ejection from the contest.After seeing Carrington swipe her forearm across Cunningham's face at full speed in what certainly did not appear to be an attempt at the basketball, Sports Illustrated opted to publish a story about the moment titled "Sophie Cunningham Got a Bitter Taste of Karma After Drawing Flagrant Foul in Fever-Sky."Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington commits a flagrant 2 foul against Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham.
(Kamil Krzaczynski/Imagn Images)The title of the story sparked immediate and intense reaction across social media as Cunningham has dominated headlines for weeks after sharing her opinion that transgender athletes should not be allowed to play in women's sports.Citing "karma" as the reason behind Cunningham taking a hard foul while she's received constant backlash for stating that men do not belong in women's sports came across, to many, as a pointed effort from Sports Illustrated.The story, written by breaking news writer Kristen Wong, was later updated with the following title: "Sophie Cunningham's Enforcer Role Gets Reversed Onto Her With Hard Foul in Fever-Sky."Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham fights with Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington after being Carrington fouled Cunningham with a hit to the Fever guard's head.(IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)OUTKICK IS NOW ON THE FOX APP: CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOADOutKick has reached out to Sports Illustrated requesting comment about the title change of the story.The Sports Illustrated story claimed that the "karma" Cunningham received on the play stemmed from a hard foul she committed during the 2025 WNBA season, in which she wrapped her arms around Jacy Sheldon while she was attempting a layup.
Sheldon played for the Connecticut Sun last season...