Dave Portnoy blasted DiJonai Carrington for her Flagrant 2 foul on Sophie Cunningham during the Indian Fever’s win over the Chicago Sky. Carrington’s clash with Cunningham became a huge talking point of the game, also due to the Sky player’s post-match social media reaction.
Dave Portnoy Calls Out DiJonai Carrington for Sophie Cunningham Foul and Post-Match Reaction
With about two minutes left in the first quarter of the Fever-Sky matchup, Carrington hit Cunningham across the neck on a breakaway layup, sending her hard to the floor. Cunningham jumped up and shoved Carrington before their teammates broke up the brawl. Referees reviewed the hit, called a Flagrant 2, and ejected Carrington on the spot.
Portnoy weighed in on the controversy on “Wake Up Barstool” on Monday. He emphasized that the foul was obvious to anyone watching and fully justified an ejection.
The Barstool founder argued that mainstream media coverage missed the central issue by debating the call rather than addressing Carrington’s actions after being ejected. He also pointed to Carrington’s history of aggressive plays on the court to challenge media narratives defending her conduct.
“Clearly a Flagrant 2 by the way. I don’t think there’s anybody with two eyeballs who thinks it’s not,” Portnoy said.
Portnoy claimed that the situation escalated beyond a normal foul because Carrington wrote ‘white privilege’ in a now-deleted social media post soon after being ejected. He also called out major media houses for reporting the controversy by focusing solely on debating the foul call rather than addressing Carrington’s social media post.
“ESPN’s filled with absolute morons. Absolutely have a panel of morons sitting there discussing this play and talking about whether it was the right call and things of that nature. And they don’t even mention the fact that she said white privilege. That is the story,” Portnoy added.
.@stoolpresidente gives his take on everything that went down with DiJonai Carrington & Sophie Cunningham pic.twitter.com/2u6DakxocF
— Wake Up Barstool (@wakeupbarstool) August 10, 2026
Portnoy refuted media claims defending Carrington, identifying her as one of the dirtiest players in the WNBA.
“She makes plays like this all the time… DiJonai Carrington, who is definitely one of the dirtiest players in the WNBA,” Portnoy claimed.
Portnoy pointed out aggressive plays from her past, including a 2024 playoffs incident in which Carrington, then with the Connecticut Sun, accidentally poked Fever star Caitlin Clark in the eye. There was much online fuss about the incident, but media assessments concluded the contact was an unintentional basketball play.
With the 90-86 victory, the Indiana Fever improved to 20-12 as they prepare to host the New York Liberty next. On the other side, the Chicago Sky fell to 12-20 following the loss and will look to regroup when they play the Seattle Storm on the road.
