The controversy surrounding DiJonai Carrington and Sophie Cunningham has taken another turn, with a WNBA commentator sending a strong message to the league in response. After hard contact from Carrington sparked her ejection in their altercation, the commentator has now directed her frustration towards the WNBA over how leadership has handled the aftermath of the incident.
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Tomi Lahren, the host of the Big Weekend Show on Fox News, publicly criticized Carrington’s social media activity following her ejection, arguing that it crosses a line.
“Again, I think it’s pretty obvious here, right? So you don’t go on social media and say white privilege and then subsequently say 8/23 almost like a threat about the next time that they’re going to match up,” Lahren said in a clip shared to X
She added, “That feels very threatening to me, inappropriate and ridiculous. The WNBA is a joke for allowing this to continue. It’s a league that desperately wants to be taken seriously, but they do everything that they possibly can to not be taken seriously.”
During the game between the Indiana Fever and the Chicago Sky on August 8, Carrington tried to chase down and block Sophie Cunningham in a fast-break situation, instead hitting her hard across the face and neck. Cunningham was sent to the floor, and after initially being called for a Flagrant 1, Carrington was assessed for a Flagrant 2 after review and was removed from the game.
Minutes after she left, Carrington took to Threads to post the words “WHITE PRIVILEGE,” while tagging the Indiana Fever, a clear allusion to the incident involving Cunningham. Later, she posted “8/23” on X with a smiling emoji, referencing the next matchup between the two teams. Notably, Carrington made no direct threat to Cunningham, but that didn’t stop Lahren from interpreting it this way.
“When you have a player not only do something egregious, but then go on social media afterward and say ‘white privilege,’ you are making it about race when you do that,” she said.
“Sophie is trying to be really diplomatic about it, saying this is not about race… But when you go on and then put out the date of the next time you’re going to match up, I mean, that to me just sounds very threatening.”
Lahren is referencing Cunningham’s comments on Carrington’s social media posts, which came after the game. Back then, Cunningham made it clear that the ejection was motivated purely by basketball rules.
“I mean, this has nothing to do with race. Last year I did the same thing, and I got kicked out, as I deserved to be kicked out. There’s no reason to even play that card.”
With the two teams set to meet in about two weeks, the next chapter of the controversy between Carrington and Cunningham could produce even more drama or be an opportunity to move forward and keep the conversation centered around basketball.