Sky's Carrington tossed after hard foul on Fever's Cunningham

CHICAGO -- TheSky'sDiJonai Carrington was assessed a flagrant 2 and ejected after a hard foul across the face and neck area of theFever'sSophie Cunninghamduringthe first quarter of Indiana's 90-86 win on Saturday afternoon.

The play was originally called a flagrant 1 but was upgraded after review.

Cunningham was ahead of the pack for a breakaway layup when Carrington chased her down and swiped down with her left arm across the face and neck area, causing Cunningham to land on her backside without being able to break her fall.

Cunningham immediately hopped up and jumped in the face of Carrington, even giving a bit of a shove as she was restrained by Makayla Timpson and security as a light fracas ensued.

The official announced that there was a windup and follow-through with a high potential for injury on a player in a vulnerable position. Carrington stood mouth agape in disbelief as the official announced the ruling, then she headed to the locker room. Cunningham smiled and clapped her hands after the announcement before teammate Mo Billings grabbed her by the shoulders and guided her back toward the bench.

Moments later, Carrington, who had scored eight points in the first quarter, posted on her Threads account: "WHITE PRIVILEGE @indianafever."

Cunningham has been the center of recent controversy for her comments in an ESPN article published last month in which she voiced support for barring transgender girls and women from girls' and women's sports. Rallies both in support of and against Cunningham have appeared at arenas in Seattle and Portland, Oregon, as well as Saturday in Chicago.br/]