The WNBA's simmering tensions boiled over on Saturday when Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington delivered a brutal foul to Indiana Fever's Sophie Cunningham. The hit, which caught Cunningham high on the neck, was upgraded to a Flagrant 2 and earned Carrington an ejection. But the fireworks didn't stop there—Cunningham's own former teammate jumped in to celebrate the moment.
Sydney Colson, who spent the 2025 season alongside Cunningham in Indiana, took to Instagram Threads on Saturday evening with a pointed post: "I love a trans foul." The comment, seemingly endorsing Carrington's aggressive play, added a personal twist to an already heated rivalry.
Cunningham, never one to back down, addressed the foul and the aftermath with her trademark fire. "Clearly, I think it was like unnecessary," she said. "I've never really spoken to her and have no beef with her, but I guess she has some pent-up stuff. So, get your (expletive) off. That's fine. I can take it."
The incident has sparked a storm of debate, with Carrington's post-game comments about privilege drawing sharp reactions. Carrington accused the league of "white privilege" in the aftermath, a claim Cunningham dismissed outright. "This has nothing to do with race," Cunningham said. "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."
For Cunningham, this kind of chaos is becoming routine. "Another day, another dollar," she said with a smile. "Welcome to my life, boys and girls. I wasn't even upset. I mean, I popped up. 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."
The Fever guard didn't mince words about Carrington's motives. "People have started craving attention," she added. "Go get it somewhere else. Go do something good in the world, I don't know."
Sky coach Teresa Weatherspoon, however, defended her player's intensity while acknowledging the call. "Look, it was a hard foul," Weatherspoon said. "It did happen, and I thought it was the right call. One of the things about [Carrington] is that she's going to play her butt off, man. She's going to compete. Nobody's going to go walking in for a layup. I don't oppose the hard foul, but I also don't think that she intentionally went for the neck."
The incident has reignited discussions about player safety and sportsmanship, with fans calling for a suspension and outcry over targeting echoing across social media. As the WNBA season heats up, this rivalry shows no signs of cooling down.
