Bird, Miller Urge WNBA to Reclaim Narrative After Carrington's Flagrant 2 Foul
Updated
Updated · Yahoo Sports · Aug 10
Bird, Miller Urge WNBA to Reclaim Narrative After Carrington's Flagrant 2 Foul
3 articles · Updated · Yahoo Sports · Aug 10
Summary
Sue Bird and Cheryl Miller said the uproar over DiJonai Carrington's flagrant 2 on Sophie Cunningham is being exploited by outsiders, and urged the WNBA to handle tensions internally and protect its brand.
The flashpoint came in the first quarter of Indiana's 90-86 win over Chicago, when Carrington swiped across Cunningham's face and neck on a breakaway layup; officials reviewed the play, upgraded it and ejected her.
Cunningham called the foul intentional, while Fever coach Stephanie White said it was a hard foul but not necessarily a deliberate shot to the neck, underscoring the split over how to read the play.
Carrington fueled the backlash by posting "WHITE PRIVILEGE" on Threads minutes after the ejection and later posting "8/23" — the date of the teams' next meeting.
The dispute has landed in a league already on edge after Cunningham's comments about transgender athletes, which Bird and Miller said is helping turn basketball incidents into broader culture-war battles.