DiJonai Carrington faced a significant and swift wave of backlash from fans following the “White Privilege” post she aimed at the Indiana Fever after her ejection for a foul on Sophie Cunningham. The reaction, it appears, has gotten to her. And she has now been forced to act.
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Carrington has now set her Threads account to private after BrickCenter described her as being “clowned by fans.” BrickCenter shared both a screenshot to support the claim and a screen recording of the fan reactions flooding her comments. The overwhelming majority of the comments were against Carrington for her post.
DiJonai Carrington had posted the words “WHITE PRIVILEGE @indianafever” on Threads shortly after being sent to the dressing room following her Flagrant 2 ejection in the Chicago Sky versus Indiana Fever game on Saturday. She appeared to suggest that the Flagrant 2 call against her was a racially motivated call, influenced by the dynamic between herself and Fever guard Sophie Cunningham.
Many fans, however, were having none of it. Their frustration with Carrington stemmed from a refusal to take responsibility for an action that was entirely deserving of the consequence it received.
The foul itself saw Carrington chase down Sophie Cunningham as she drove on a fast break for a layup. While Cunningham was airborne during the shot, Carrington swept her left arm directly across Cunningham’s face and neck, bringing her crashing to the floor.
The contact also did not seem incidental. Carrington’s original attempt to swipe the ball had come from her right hand. The left arm swing at Cunningham’s face and neck was an entire motion that looked unnecessary and dangerous.
Officials initially assessed the action as a Flagrant 1 Foul, but upon reviewing the footage, they upgraded it to a Flagrant 2. That resulted in the ejection for Carrington.
The decision to frame the call as a racial injustice, rather than simply acknowledging responsibility, seemed to rub a number of them the wrong way. That might have explained their rather harsh reaction to Carrington’s post, with many choosing to criticize and mock her over the controversial claim.
As it stands, the league is expected to review Carrington’s social media conduct in line with WNBA guidelines, though they have not provided an answer for their next course of action, per an August 8 report by FOX News. The review carries a real possibility of additional penalties. With her Threads account now set to private, Carrington appears to be stepping back from the public fallout for now. It remains to be seen if Dijonai Carrington will appear on the court for the Sky’s next matchup against the Seattle Storm on August 10.