CHICAGO — Caitlin Clark received her eighth technical foul and Sophie Cunningham was hit hard in the head by DiJonai Carrington during an eventful game between the Indiana Fever and Chicago Sky on Saturday afternoon.
In the first quarter, with just over two minutes left in the frame, Cunningham earned a steal and raced ahead in transition. For a moment, it appeared she had an open layup coming her way. But Carrington raced back to defend the play and tried to stop the basket.
Carrington wound up and drilled Cunningham’s head, knocking her to the ground. Cunningham made the layup, then popped up off the court with clear anger. She started to walk right toward Carrington.
“Clearly I think it was unnecessary. I’ve never really spoken to her and have no beef with her,” Cunningham said postgame. She thought the foul was intentional. “But I guess she has some pent-up stuff. So get your shit off, that’s fine. I can take it.”
Fever forward Makayla Timpson, who was moved into the starting lineup, grabbed Cunningham and prevented her from getting closer to Carrington. Security then intervened before officials reviewed the play.
Carrington was ultimately assessed a flagrant two and ejected from the game. She finished with eight points and did not speak to reporters postgame, but did take to social media after walking back to the locker room.
“WHITE PRIVILEGE @indianafever” she posted on Threads. “8/23” was Carrington’s post on X, a nod to the date of the next game between the Fever and Sky.
Cunningham doesn’t think the play has anything to do with race and said the league is taking care of anything related to Carrington’s social media posts. “There’s no reason even to play that card,” Cunningham said. “They’ll take care of it,” she said of the league’s possible response.
Asked why she was so upset at the foul and popped up with anger, Cunningham said, “I popped up. I’m not going to let anyone just do that to me, and I think everyone knows that. And I think that’s why she did it, because she wants attention. I mean, shit, people that are craving attention, go get it somewhere else. Like, go do something good in the world. I don’t know.”
Cunningham said she and Carrington have no prior relationship and said nothing to each other at that moment. “She has no reason to be doing any of that. So, good way to get her kicked out,” Cunningham said. “That’s what they did. So it’s fine.”
The officials, via a postgame pool report, said, “The criteria for a flagrant foul penalty 2 was met since the contact was deemed unnecessary and excessive to a player in a vulnerable position.” Cunningham’s reaction to the play was deemed acceptable.
Later in the game, Myisha Hines-Allen committed a hard foul on Natasha Cloud that was reviewed, but that play ended cordially and was deemed a common foul upon review. Cloud was later given a technical foul in the fourth quarter.
The technical foul of much more note came in the third quarter. Clark — who entered the game with seven technical fouls, one short of a one-game suspension — was whistled for a tech after running into an official standing out of bounds on the baseline.
Clark had just made a pass and was drifting out of bounds watching where the ball went when she bumped into an official. The postgame pool report said that, “The official deemed that Clark intentionally made contact; therefore, a technical foul was assessed.”
Clark vehemently disagreed postgame, stating that she didn’t even know the official was standing there as she moved. “It’s already appealed,” she said postgame.
Stephanie White was upset with the call and walked onto the court to argue with the officials. She, too, was given a tech for language used during that exchange. “My tech was for saying that’s bullshit, even though I heard the F-bomb the whole fucking game. My tech was for saying that’s bullshit.
“That’s a bad call. Incidental contact when you’re flying out of control,” White said. She thought the officials should have come together to talk about the play and needed more awareness in the moment.
Clark went to her seat on the bench moments later and hunched over the back of her chair to watch a replay of the sequence with an assistant coach sitting behind her. “I just hope the league makes the right decision. Hopefully I can play on Tuesday,” she said.
At that time, it was Clark’s eighth technical foul, and that number comes with a suspension for the coming game. The Fever host the New York Liberty on Tuesday, so for a moment it seemed that Clark would be suspended for that game, which was set to be on ESPN.
However, she will not be. The IX has learned that the technical foul on Clark from Fever vs Sky has already been rescinded, meaning she still only has seven and will be available for the Fever’s next game.
“The league office will review whether any additional penalty should be assessed,” the postgame pool report said.
Clark finished with 26 points and 11 assists while Cunningham had just three points, all from that one play. The Fever won 90-86 and play the Sky again in about two weeks.
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During that play that Caitlin received that tech!! If you look at the officials face and expression,she recognizes clark and then issued that call !!!