Dave Portnoy called for Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White to be fired after she defended Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington following her hard foul on Sophie Cunningham.
Carrington was ejected from the court due to her Flagrant 2 foul on Cunningham, but White believed the play was unintentional.
Dave Portnoy Rips Stephanie White for Failing To Stand Up for Sophie Cunningham After DiJonai Carrington Incident
During a fast break in the first quarter of the Fever-Sky game, Carrington hit Cunningham across the head and neck, driving her to the court. Cunningham confronted Carrington before the other players separated them. Officials reviewed the play and ejected Carrington after deeming the foul to be a Flagrant 2.
White, however, said that she felt the foul was unintentional.
“One of the things about Nai (DiJonai Carrington) is that she’s going to compete. No one’s going to walk in for an easy layup, so I don’t oppose the hard foul. But I also don’t think she intentionally went for the neck,” White said.
Unimpressed by White’s take, Portnoy firmly thought that Carrington intentionally clashed with Cunningham. The Barstool founder expressed frustration over White’s post-game press conference response and called for her immediate firing.
“Get her out of there. Fire her [expletive] today. I don’t want her back on that bench. Stop defending the other players… When do you ever see a coach in the NBA not defend their own players?,” Portnoy said on “Wake Up Barstool.”
Stephanie White has to go. You’re the head coach, defend your players or get lost. pic.twitter.com/cfOCR0JhRk
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) August 10, 2026
Portnoy also claimed that White repeatedly fails to defend her own roster, including Caitlin Clark, when opposing players commit dirty fouls against them.
“This isn’t politics. Your player got assaulted. Defend your player in the press conference,” he added.
Portnoy also slammed Carrington for her on-court and off-court conduct on Monday. He labeled the Sky guard ‘one of the dirtiest players in the WNBA.’ Furthermore, he called out mainstream media for avoiding reporting on Carrington’s now-deleted social media post claiming Cunningham received ‘white privilege.’
The Sky-Fever clash narrowly went Cunningham and Indiana’s way. The 90-86 win helped the Fever improve to 20-12, while the Sky fell to 12-20.
The Chicago Sky will travel to Seattle to take on the Storm on Monday, while Indiana will host the New York Liberty on Tuesday.
Portnoy is right – White should go. She could have simply stated that the foul was flagrant; her additional comments about Carrington were instinctive – and absolutely revealing of who she supports.