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The WNBA has been making more headlines than ever in recent months.
Unfortunately, most of the coverage has little to do with the players’ accomplishments on the court and much to do with various controversies pertaining to politics and social issues.
The latest drama began during a game — when Chicago Sky forward Dijonai Carrington was ejected after committing a flagrant foul against Sophie Cunningham of the Indiana Fever.
But it heated up on social media.
After she was ejected for giving Cunningham a forearm to the face, Carrington took to X (formerly Twitter) with a post that read simply, “WHITE PRIVILEGE.”
She also tagged Cunningham’s team.
The post didn’t sit well with many commentators and sports journalists, as Carrington’s ejection seemed appropriate, given the brutal nature of her foul.
One journalist who chastised Carrington was former NFL linebacker Emmanuel Acho.
“The refs made the right call on DiJonai Carrington. There’s no white privilege involved in that specific call,” Acho said on his Speakeasy YouTube show on Monday.
The remark led Carrington to allege that Acho had misinterpreted her comments.
“I’ve never once claimed that the assessment of the foul was white privilege,” Carrington wrote on X, reposting a clip of former NFL star Emmanuel Acho discussing her response.
“Try exercising your critical thinking skills, I know you studied psych. Furthermore, I’m the LAST thing from ignorant or asinine when it comes to speaking on ‘white privilege’, do ya research on that one.”
Carrington, who graduated from Stanford, added, “I actually went to school, one of the top universities, might I add, to educate myself on this exact subject. I would never use that term as a rhetorical weapon knowing the historical and social weight it holds without having the proper evidence to substantiate it.”
The rebuttal lead to a sarcastic response from Acho.
“You are correct, DiJonai Carrington, my assumption, along with the majority of the sports world, was that you posting ‘white privilege’ immediately following being thrown out of a game for fouling somebody white was regarding the foul.
“But if the two things are somehow not connected, that’s on me. I’ll stand corrected,” Acho wrote on X, adding:
“However, America is a speaker oriented country, so the burden is on you for being clear, direct and easy to understand.”
For her part, Cunningham downplayed any racial bias, saying “there’s no reason to even play that card.”
She went on to dismiss Carrington’s hard foul as “her just trying to get attention.”
The grudge might resurface the next time Cunningham and Carrington face off on the court.
For now, it’s another WNBA scandal in a season that’s been loaded with them.
