Fever coach sticks up for DiJonai Carrington after flagrant foul on Sophie Cunningham, ejection

In the aftermath of DiJonai Carrington getting ejected, Fever head coach Stephanie White defended her former player.Carrington was tossed after fouling Sophie Cunningham from behind in transition in a call that was upgraded to a flagrant 2 during the Sky’s loss to the Fever on Saturday, but White, who coached Carrington with the Sun in 2023 and ‘24, supported Carrington’s intentions while agreeing with the call.“Yeah, I mean, look, it was a hard foul,” White told reporters postgame.“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.”The foul occurred with around two minutes remaining in the second quarter, when Cunningham, the Fever reserve, neared the basket in transition and Carrington made contact with her neck area.Cunningham got up from the court and began shoving Carrington before others separated them.Carrington, after she was ejected and returned to the locker room, posted “WHITE PRIVILEGE” on Threads.“One of the things about [Carrington] is that she’s gonna play her butt off, man,” White told reporters.

“She’s gonna compete.Nobody’s gonna go walking in for a layup.

And so, I don’t oppose the hard foul.”When addressing reporters postgame, Cunningham said that “this has nothing to do with race” and that “there’s no reason to even play that card,” referencing a game last season when she was likewise tossed for committing a similar foul.Cunningham said that she doesn’t have any “beef” with Carrington, who was appearing in her fifth game for the Sky this season after recovering from a foot sprain, and added “I guess she has some pent-up stuff.”Carrington posted “8/23” in an X post Saturday with a beaming face with a smiling eyes emoji added to the right of the August date, referencing the next time the Fever and Sky meet this season.Cunningham, who has sparked plenty of tension around the league following h...