Chennedy Carter Calls Out Double Standard Between WNBA, NBA Displays of Emotion
At the end of November, Chicago Sky guard Chennedy Carter (who is spending the WNBA offseason playing for Wuhan Shengfan in the Women's Chinese Basketball Association (WCBA)) was given a “Good Temper Award” and 10,000 yuan (which is equivalent to about $1,380) for “her achievements in emotional management”.
In a graphic from Wuhan Shengfan that came along with the award, it was written, "As we all know, Carter is a passionate athlete with a hot temper at times, which has become a 'double-edged sword' that restricts her development."
Chicago Sky’s Chennedy Carter was awarded the “Good Temper Award” and 10,000 yuan for “her achievements in emotional management” during her time with WCBA’s Wuhan Shengfan team. 🔥💰 pic.twitter.com/RzVulaltVI
— WNBACentral (@WNBACentral_) November 29, 2024
Carter has earned this reputation of having a "hot temper" among women's basketball fans largely because of the incident she had with Fever superstar Caitlin Clark back in June of 2024, where she was seen yelling at the 2024 WNBA Rookie of the Year before shoulder-checking her to the ground in the middle of a game.
Caitlin Clark gets called a b*tch then decked by Chicago guard, Chennedy Carter, away from the ball.
— Emmanuel Acho (@EmmanuelAcho) June 1, 2024
Does Caitlin need to toughen up, or are the women out to get her- What y’all think? pic.twitter.com/ajKvPQfr91
Carter had also experienced off-court issues in previous tenures with the Atlanta Dream and Los Angeles Sparks before joining the Sky in 2024.
Carter doesn't seem to agree with this reputation; or at least believes her actions wouldn't be seen in the same light if she was in the NBA instead.
She made this clear through her Instagram story on Friday, where she reposted a montage of NBA player Jordan Clarkson "squaring up" (putting his hands in a fighting position) multiple times in different games.
Carter's caption was, "but when emotions get to women yall got opinions its funny tho
"it dont even get this bad like squaring up in a game way worse than anything i seen a female do go cry abt it".
X user @sammygee1400 reposted Carter's story and wrote, "She lowkey ain’t wrong it’s fun in the nba but bullying in the W".
She lowkey ain’t wrong it’s fun in the nba but bullying in the W pic.twitter.com/ruSJBYlm9X
— #1AR5DEFENDER (@sammygee1400) December 21, 2024
Carter certainly has a fair point.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.
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