Sky guard Carrington says White privilege post addressed officiating consistency
Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington clarified that her social-media comment about White privilege was meant to highlight the need for consistent officiating in the WNBA, not to criticize a specific foul on Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham.
Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington said her recent social-media post mentioning White privilege was intended to call for uniform officiating standards across the league, rather than to comment on a flagrant-2 foul she committed against Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham on Saturday. Carrington posted the word “WHITE PRIVILEGE” on Threads and tagged the Fever shortly after being ejected for the foul that struck Cunningham’s head and jaw.
“I’ve never once claimed that the assessment of the foul was White privilege (that was your assumption),” Carrington wrote on X in response to analyst Emmanuel Acho’s remarks.
She added that she has studied the topic and would not use the term without evidence. In pre-game remarks before the Sky’s matchup with the Seattle Storm, Carrington said she wanted “consistency across the board” for calls, technicals and retaliations, regardless of a player’s jersey or skin color.
“Whether it’s the foul that I committed, whether it’s the reaction, the retaliation, I would just love it to be consistent across the board regardless of the name on your jersey or your skin color or the score of the game, the stakes whatever, I would love there to just be consistency when it comes to all of that,” she said.
Carrington noted she has discussed the issue with league officials but does not feel encouraged by those talks, though she remains committed to advocating for consistency. The WNBA has not responded to a request for comment.
Cunningham, who was hit by the foul, suggested the contact might have been retaliation for a prior incident involving a different Sky player. Carrington denied any intent to harm, describing the contact as accidental and part of her playing style.
“Obviously I’m just coming back from injury so maybe my timing or my lift wasn’t where it needs to get to but it was never intentional,” she said.
The incident occurs amid ongoing scrutiny of WNBA officiating and broader debates surrounding player conduct and social issues within the league.