(AP) – DiJonai Carrington of the Chicago Sky says she never claimed that the assessment of a Flagrant 2 foul on her on Saturday in a game against Indiana was the result of white privilege.
Carrington came from behind and hit the Fever’s Sophie Cunningham in the head and neck on a fast-break layup, knocking her to the court as the shot went in. The play was reviewed and upgraded to a Flagrant 2 after the referee said there was windup, impact and follow-through on the foul.
Carrington is Black and Cunningham is white. After Carrington was ejected, she posted “WHITE PRIVILEGE” on social media and tagged the Fever.
Responding to a clip of former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho criticizing her reaction, Carrington posted on X on Monday that she “never once claimed that the assessment of the foul was white privilege.”
“Try exercising your critical thinking skills, I know you studied psych. Furthermore, I’m the LAST thing from ignorant or asinine when it comes to speaking on ‘white privilege’, do ya research on that one,” Carrington wrote. “I actually went to school, one of the top universities might I add, to educate myself on this exact subject.
“I would never use that term as a rhetorical weapon knowing the historical and social weight it holds without having the proper evidence to substantiate it.”
The 28-year-old Carrington played for Stanford for four years before spending her final season of college ball at Baylor. She majored in psychology and African and African American studies at Stanford.
There has been no word from the WNBA on any additional punishment for Carrington for the hard foul. The Sky lost 97-88 to the Seattle Storm on Monday night. Carrington came off the bench, played 27 minutes and scored a career-high 26 points.
___
