Stephanie White’s DiJonai Carrington Defense After Sophie Cunningham Foul Is Puzzling

Indiana Fever Stephanie White did too much in defense of DiJonai Carrington after her flagrant foul on Sophie Cunningham.

Aug 2, 2026; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White talks with the media before the game between the Minnesota Lynx and Indiana Fever at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Blewett-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The Indiana Fever defeated the Chicago Sky on Saturday in a game that came with a lot of extra storylines. The one that will have the longest shelf life is the flagrant 2 foul that Sky guard DiJonai Carrington committed against Sophie Cunningham.

Carrington nailed Cunningham across the face, sending her to the floor, and earning an ejection as a result.

DiJonai Carrington was assessed a Flagrant 2 and was ejected from the game after this play. pic.twitter.com/WRapu4lqHX

— ESPN (@espn) August 8, 2026

So one would think the Fever's coach wouldn't go out of her way to praise Carrington after the game, correct? Unfortunately, that was not the case.

White was asked about the play and had this to say:

"Look, it was a hard foul. I don't think DiJonai intentionally came out to get her across the neck like she did. But it did happen, and I thought it was the right call."

If that were it, it would at least be understandable. Carrington did play for White with the Connecticut Sun and Carrington does have a history of enough reckless fouls, particularly on chase downs where hesitating to ascribe intent is defensible. But it was White then going the extra mile to praise Carrington that was truly puzzling.

"One of the things about Nai is that she's going to play her butt off, man she's gonna compete. Nobody's gonna go walking in for a layup. I don't oppose the hard foul, but I also don't think that she intentionally went for the neck," White said.

It's hard to understand why White would praise Carrington's effort and defend her in this way given the context, as it left Cunningham bloodied from the mouth and sprawled on the hardwood. In that instance, one would expect the Fever's coach to have her player's back a bit more.

White did a much better job standing up for Caitlin Clark, which is something that she didn't do enough earlier in the season, for the nonsensical technical foul Clark was hit with that has since been rescinded. But that was negated by her response to the flagrant.

The Fever coach did not know about Carrington heading to social media, posting "WHITE PRIVILEGE," and tagging the Fever when she made these remarks, but it makes them even worse in retrospect.

Cunningham's Stance Not Surprisingly Differs

Aug 8, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham (8) fights with Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington (7) after she was fouled during the first half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Cunningham had no problem standing up for herself. Not only did she immediately pursue Carrington after the foul to express her displeasure, but she also made it clear how she felt about it after the contest.

"Clearly, I think it was like unnecessary," Cunningham said about the play. "I've never really spoken to her and have no beef with her, but I guess she has some pent-up stuff. So, get your s*** off. That's fine. I can take it."

"I wasn't even upset. I mean, I popped up. I'm not going to let anyone just do that to me. I think everyone knows that. I think that's why she did it because she wants attention. I mean, s***, like, people have started craving attention. Like go get it somewhere else. Go do something good in the world, I don't know," she added.

Her coach didn't have to take the exact same tack, but to borrow Cunningham's word, the defense of Carrington in the immediate aftermath was, "unnecessary."