Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham called it just another game, and Chicago Sky coach Tyler Marsh felt the exact same way. This was the first time these two teams had squared off since DiJonai Carrington’s hard foul on Cunningham earlier this month, the one that blew up into a social media firestorm. The anticipation was palpable, but the players and coaches? They acted like it was just another Sunday night.
No Hard Feelings? Don’t Believe The Hype
The Fever rolled into Chicago closing out a brutal five-game road trip, their third game in four nights, already dropping two in a row. You know the grind is real. Cunningham, though, was all business heading into this matchup. “My mindset has never changed. I think it is what it is,” she said. “I’m locked in on tonight. … I think we’re just out here trying to get the win.” Carrington was even listed as questionable with a left foot injury, but she got cleared after warmups and hit the court. Both players checked in with 3:04 left in the first quarter. In the first half, there were no major issues. Cunningham put up three points in six minutes, and Carrington chipped in four points on 2-for-7 shooting in just over 11 minutes. Marsh, the Sky coach, even claimed he didn’t bother talking to his players about the charged atmosphere from their last game. “That kind of was what it was last game and anything that came out of it kind of lasted for that time,” Marsh said. “But for us, again, it was on to the next one in front of us.”
The Foul That Started It All And The Unforgettable Response
Let’s not forget how we got here. Back on August 8, in Indiana’s 90-86 win, Cunningham was driving for a layup in the first quarter when Carrington came flying in from behind, hitting her in the head and neck. Cunningham hit the deck hard, but the shot still went in. What happened next? Cunningham popped right up, charged Carrington, and shoved her before a teammate could pull her back. The referees wasted no time reviewing the play, upgrading it to a Flagrant 2 due to the “windup, impact, and follow-through” on the foul. Carrington was ejected. But it didn’t end there. Shortly after being tossed, Carrington hit social media with “WHITE PRIVILEGE” and tagged the Fever. For context, Carrington is Black and Cunningham is white. Days later, Carrington posted again, saying she never claimed the Flagrant 2 assessment itself was because of white privilege, but she didn’t explain further. Cunningham, before Sunday’s game, made it crystal clear where she stood on the whole social media drama: “I (couldn’t) care less about what she does, what she tweets, any of that. I’m here to play basketball. There’s going to be people who are going to talk about it … but to me, it’s just another basketball game.”
Despite all the noise and that wild social media aftermath, both players and coaches are trying to convince us they are moving past it. But when a play like that sparks a whole debate about “white privilege,” you gotta wonder if “just another basketball game” is *really* the whole story.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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