Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington has responded to criticism of her social media post following an on-court confrontation with Indiana Fever's Sophie Cunningham. Carrington was ejected from a WNBA game for committing a hard foul on Cunningham and subsequently posted "white privilege" on social media, tagging the Indiana Fever.
The post drew criticism from sports analysts, including former NFL player Emmanuel Acho, who argued on a podcast that Carrington's assertion undermined the concept of white privilege and ignored basketball rules. "You hit her in the head. You drew blood. You didn't connect with the ball at all whatsoever," Acho stated, calling Carrington's suggestion "ignorant and, to some degree, asinine."
Carrington, 28, has since addressed the backlash on X, formerly Twitter. She clarified that she never claimed the foul assessment itself was based on white privilege, suggesting critics were making that assumption. She urged them to use critical thinking and stated she is not ignorant or asinine when discussing white privilege. Carrington asserted that she researched the topic at a "top university" and would not use the term lightly.
Cunningham, when asked about the incident after her team's 90-86 victory, stated that the league was handling the matter and that the situation had "nothing to do with race." She recalled a similar ejection the previous year for a comparable foul, suggesting her past actions warranted removal from the game.