The WNBA continues to attract media attention for all the wrong reasons. The controversy over transgender athletes has led to a league meeting to define what it means to be a woman — you can't make this up. There’s the ongoing Caitlin Clark issue, where the star player and league face are taking a lot of heat, and Sophie Cunningham is becoming public enemy number one for wanting to protect girls’ sports. It’s a circus, which reached a main event moment on August 8, with the Indiana Fever’s game against the Chicago Sky, where a technical foul was called on Clark for accidentally running into an official — ridiculous—and Cunningham getting clotheslined by the Chicago Sky's DiJonai Carrington.
Black WNBA player clotheslines Sophie Cunningham on a lay up attempt. Gets ejected. Tweets “White privilege” from locker room to argue she was ejected because of racism. Identity politics destroys everything, even sports. pic.twitter.com/mr3Zelj2cv
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) August 8, 2026
DiJonai Carrington on Threads from the locker room after being ejected for foul on Sophie Cunningham: pic.twitter.com/BVrzYH2SxH
— Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) August 8, 2026
As Joe wrote about the mayhem over the weekend, Carrington was ejected from the game, as she should have been. She later tweeted, “white privilege,” after she was booted. Cunningham took the high road when asked about the foul and Carrington’s tweet, noting she had experienced the same situation last year, when she was ejected, and stated that’s what should happen — no one should play like that. She added that she felt Carrington’s foul was intentional but is puzzled as to why, since they don’t know each other or have any ‘beef.’ Cunningham doesn’t believe it was a racial issue and expects the league to handle it. Clark’s technical, which could have led to a one-game suspension, was later rescinded. Also, Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White chalked up Carrington's foul as something that happens when one competes. That would be acceptable if it weren't for the tweet afterward, but okay (via Associated Press).
Sophie Cunningham on DiJonai Carrington's Threads post after being ejected for fouling Cunningham, posting "White Privilege," in all caps and tagging the Fever's account.
— Yahoo Sports (@YahooSports) August 8, 2026
(via @kareemcopeland) pic.twitter.com/ENm47ydBKO
Fever coach Stephanie White defended DiJonai Carrington’s assault on Sophie Cunningham 💀
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) August 9, 2026
“She’s going to compete, no one’s going to walk in for an easy layup, so I don’t oppose the hard foul.” pic.twitter.com/iseSzm2e6y
Caitlin Clark is all of us hearing her coach defend DiJonai Carrington pic.twitter.com/0DP8HVBub3
— OutKick (@Outkick) August 9, 2026
“Clearly I think it was unnecessary,” Cunningham said. “I’ve never really spoken to her and I have no beef with her, but I guess she has some pent up stuff.”
[…]
Cunningham got up immediately, charged toward Carrington and pushed her as she was held back by a teammate.
“I popped up,” Cunningham said. “I’m not going to let anyone just do that to me. I think everyone knows that. I think that’s why she did it because she wants attention.”
[…]
“I think the league is taking care of that,” she said. “This has nothing to do with race. Last year, I did the same thing and I got kicked out. And I deserved to be kicked out. There’s no reason even to play that card.”
In the third quarter, Fever star Caitlin Clark was assessed a technical foul after she made contact with a referee when she was forced out of bounds. The technical was Clark’s eighth of the season, triggering a one-game suspension for Indiana’s next game if not rescinded by the league.
“She said I ran into her,” Clark said in a postgame television interview. “I’ve already watched it on the tape, so we’ll let the league decide. But it wasn’t intentional or anything, so I’m hoping it’s getting rescinded,”
A few hours after the game Clark got her way. The WNBA rescinded the technical foul.
What a mess.
The Fever won the game 90-86. The Sky play the Fever again on August 23. Will this happen again? Likely.
— Sophie Cunningham FAN CLUB (@SophieC_FanClub) August 8, 2026
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