It’s almost as if the drama surrounding Sophie Cunningham refuses to end. After weeks of noise surrounding the Indiana Fever, it finally seemed like things might be settling down as the team returned to the court against the Chicago Sky. But just when the focus appeared ready to shift back to basketball, tensions boiled over between Cunningham and DiJonai Carrington, and what happened next took the confrontation well beyond the court.

After being ejected for a Flagrant 2 foul on Sophie Cunningham, Sky guard DiJonai Carrington took to social media and posted “WHITE PRIVILEGE,” tagging the Indiana Fever. The post quickly caught attention, with former NFL star Emmanuel Acho pushing back on the idea that race played any role in Carrington’s ejection.

“DiJonai Carrington posted ‘White Privilege’ from the locker room after being ejected for fouling Indiana Fever’s Sophie Cunningham,” Acho wrote on X, reacting to a screenshot of Carrington’s post. “Judge for yourself, but color didn’t have nothing to do with the flagrant 2. IMO.”

But Acho wasn’t the only one to take notice. NBA veteran Seth Curry also weighed in on Carrington’s post, poking fun at her reaction. “Threads from the locker room after the ejection is comedy!” he wrote on his Threads account.

The foul in question occurred with roughly two minutes remaining in the opening period of the Indiana Fever’s 90-86 victory over the Chicago Sky. Fever guard Sophie Cunningham was driving on a fast break for a breakaway layup, with Carrington chasing her down from behind. And in what appeared to be an attempt to swipe the ball from Cunningham’s hand, Carrington instead brought her left arm sweeping across Cunningham’s face. The resulting contact sent Cunningham crashing hard to the floor, though the basket went in.

Cunningham, reacting to the hard contact, immediately jumped back up and confronted Carrington, pushing the Sky forward before teammate Makayla Timpson, officials, and arena security restrained her.

The confrontation didn’t end there, with words also exchanged between the two. “I’m not going to let anyone just do that to me, I think everyone knows that,” Cunningham said, as per The Athletic, while one lip reader claimed Carrington responded with, “Try me.”

The play was so controversial that Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier weighed in on X, suggesting the foul was serious enough to warrant an assa-lt charge. “The WNBA knows better than to play games down here in Florida, because I’ll be charging people with assa-lt,” Uthmeier wrote.

The resulting referees’ verdict on Carrington’s action was a Flagrant 1. However, upon video review, they upgraded it to a Flagrant 2, resulting in an automatic ejection.

Revisiting the footage of the foul, Acho’s position seems quite difficult to argue with. A Flagrant 2 under the WNBA rulebook is a personal contact that is unnecessary and excessive. Every element of Carrington’s action appeared to meet that standard precisely.

She initially attempted to swipe at the ball with her right hand, but her left arm made direct contact with Cunningham’s face and neck, even though the ball already left her hand. The foul was dangerous, the impact was significant, and it was against an airborne player, one of the most vulnerable positions in the game.

Reacting to the foul after the game, Sophie Cunningham made it clear she wasn’t happy with what had happened. “We got a good steal, we had some good defense, and just went up and got the and-1,” Cunningham told the reporters. “From my point of view, I mean clearly I think it was unnecessary. I’ve never really spoken to her and have no beef with her. But I guess she has some pent-up stuff. So get your s***off. That’s fine. I can take it.”

Cunningham was also asked about the social media post that went viral after the ejection, and she responded with a jab of her own. After the game, she suggested Carrington’s hard foul was simply “her just trying to get attention.”

“I don’t even know her,” Cunningham added. “She wasn’t even on the team when all that was going on. But I do think when people play the Fever, we’re nationally televised, there’s a lot of eyes on us. People just want attention. And that’s her just trying to get attention.”

For Cunningham, this incident was just the latest in a growing list of controversies that have followed her since her July 21 ESPN profile, where she questioned the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports.

While those comments sparked debates and even organized rallies wherever the Fever went, Cunningham has remained consistent in saying she wants to “get back to basketball.”

But getting back to basketball hasn’t exactly been easy for Cunningham. In her latest outing against the Sky, she managed just 3 points on 1-of-3 shooting in 17 minutes. That came after 2 points in 28 minutes against the Aces and another 3-point outing in 23 minutes against the Lynx.

Three straight poor performances, and it’s quite evident that the whole situation has affected Cunningham. The noise may be off the court, but its impact is showing up on it.

While many viewed Carrington’s foul as dangerous, she wasn’t without support.

Tyler Marsh Questions Carrington’s Ejection

Chicago Sky head coach Tyler Marsh believes DiJonai Carrington’s foul wasn’t intentional and shared his perspective on the incident during the postgame press conference.

“In the moment, I thought that she made a play on the ball,” Marsh told reporters after the game, as posted to X by @ChiStateOfMind_.

“I didn’t think it warranted a flagrant two. I didn’t see the replay when it happened. So that was my initial thoughts. But the officials made what they made. I haven’t looked at that play since. So I really don’t know if it was justified or not. So that’s what I thought in the moment.”

Even Fever head coach Stephanie White felt there was no malice behind Carrington’s play.

“It was a hard foul,” White said. “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.”

With the automatic ejection now on her record, Carrington faces a $1,000 fine, while her social media activity is also likely to come under review. But Carrington has already circled August 23 on her calendar, when the Sky and Fever meet again. If this latest clash is any indication, the next meeting could bring plenty more fireworks.