Former ESPN analyst Cindy Brunson faces criticism for comments on WNBA players
Cindy Brunson, a former ESPN broadcaster, drew backlash after posting on social media defending DiJonai Carrington’s ejection, questioning Caitlin Clark’s statistics, and praising Angel Reese’s rebound record.
Former ESPN broadcaster Cindy Brunson sparked controversy with a series of social-media posts about recent WNBA games. She argued that DiJonai Carrington’s flagrant-2 foul should have been classified as a flagrant-1 and suggested that Sophie Cunningham deserved an ejection instead. Brunson also posted that white WNBA players benefit from “reverse DEI,” and identified herself as “team @dijonai all day every day.”
In a separate thread, Brunson criticized Caitlin Clark’s 37-point performance in a 113-90 Indiana Fever win over the Chicago Sky, calling it “stat padding” because the game was not competitive. The comment was later deleted after receiving accusations of racism and transphobia. Brunson has also downplayed Clark’s recent 30-point, 10-assist games, describing the sample size as “small.”
Conversely, Brunson praised Angel Reese’s 26-rebound effort, noting that it broke a league record, and she highlighted Paige Bueckers’ 22-point, 11-assist game without similar criticism. Her contrasting remarks have led to questions about consistency and potential bias in her coverage of WNBA players.
"I’m team @dijonai all day every day and at most that should’ve been a flagrant 1 not an ejection," Brunson wrote on Threads.
"Miss me with that stat padding 37 points, on the floor up 20 w/ a minute to go BS," she added in reference to Clark’s performance.
"So impressive @Reese10Angel just broke a record that has stood since May of 2003… It doesn’t matter who the competition is, she set not one, but two WNBA records tonight!" Brunson posted about Reese’s rebound record.
Observers noted the disparity in Brunson’s commentary, suggesting that her personal preferences may be influencing her analysis of players and games.