The controversy around DiJonai Carrington committing a flagrant 2 foul on Sophie Cunningham has only grown since the incident occurred on Saturday. Now, Carrington is offering her clearest explanation of the play that resulted in her ejection. Speaking to the media on August 10, the guard explained that she had no malicious intent and was only trying to play hard-nosed defense.
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“I’m never gonna let a open layup just be had. You can pull clips from however many seasons of me making that same exact play. It was unfortunate that I made contact with her in the way that I did, but it was never intentional,” Carrington said before her team’s game against the Seattle Storm, according to Chicago State of Mind Sports on X.
During Saturday’s game between the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky, Carrington tried to block Cunningham’s layup in the first quarter. While both players were airborne, Carrington swiped her arm to block the layup but instead hit Cunningham’s neck and face and wiped her out. Although the officials initially ruled it as a Flagrant 1, they upgraded to a Flagrant 2 and ejected Carrington.
Sky coach Tyler Marsh also supported his guard and reiterated that Carrington did not intend to hurt Sophie Cunningham.
“I think the intent was to make an attempt at the ball, and that’s how she plays. That’s who she is. She’s passionate, hard-nosed, and it’s unfortunate that’s what happened. I don’t think that’s what her intent was…” Marsh said ahead of their clash with Seattle.
“There’s a lot of vitriol at DiJonai’s expense. There’s a lot that she has to deal with, as well. When we talk about protecting players, it should be every player.”
While a coach defending their player is nothing unheard of, DiJonai Carrington also found support from the rival camp. Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White came to Carrington’s defense right after her team beat Chicago 90-86.
Stephanie White previously coached Carrington in 2023 and 2024 as the head of the Connecticut Sun. Connecticut was where Carrington broke out as the Most Improved Player and made the All-Defensive First Team in 2024.
“One of the things about Nai is that she’s gonna play her butt off, man. She’s gonna compete. Nobody’s gonna go walking in for a layup. And so I don’t oppose the hard foul. But I also don’t think that she intentionally went for the neck,” White said during the post-game presser.
Meanwhile, DiJonai Carrington is already looking forward to rematching the Fever after spending most of Saturday’s game on the sidelines. After the game, she posted “8/23” with a smiling emoji on X, which is the date when the rivals will run it back.
DiJonai Carrington also showed that same drive against the Seattle Storm. She carried the Sky in their 97-88 loss, scoring 26 points and going 10-of-10 from the field while playing 27 minutes.
So, whether fans accept Carrington’s explanation remains to be seen, but for now, her position is clear: the foul was unfortunate, but not intentional.