“I’ll Be Charging People With Assault”: DiJonai Carrington’s Flagrant Foul on Sophie Cunningham Draws Strong Warning From Florida Attorney General

The fallout from DiJonai Carrington’s Flagrant 2 foul on Sophie Cunningham has now reached the office of Florida’s Attorney General, James Uthmeier. He weighed in on the hard foul with a blunt and unambiguous warning directed at the WNBA. 

“The WNBA knows better than to play games down here in Florida, because I’ll be charging people with assault,” Uthmeier wrote, reacting to an X post showing how the foul unfolded, alongside Carrington’s “white privilege” claim.

The foul occurred during the Indiana Fever-Chicago Sky game on Saturday. With 1:59 remaining in the first quarter, Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington found herself in a chase-down situation as Sophie Cunningham attacked on a fast-break layup. As Cunningham rose into the air and released the ball to complete the basket, Carrington swiped downward with her left arm, striking Cunningham directly across the face and neck area.

Despite the successful layup, the force of the impact knocked an airborne Sophie Cunningham out of the air entirely, sending her crashing down hard. That foul alone, given the nature and force of the contact, was already enough to generate significant controversy. But what followed in the dressing room made everything considerably worse.

“WHITE PRIVILEGE @indianafever,” Carrington posted on Threads after being ejected from the game.

That social media post has since ignited immediate backlash. A considerable number of fans, analysts, and sports commentators have opined on it. The post, as well as the foul, has also drawn political attention, with the incident being pulled into the ongoing debates around Sophie Cunningham’s recent comments.

It is perhaps that politicized dimension of the story that explains why Florida’s Attorney General felt moved to weigh in on what would ordinarily remain a sports matter. And Uthmeier did not stop at his initial comment either.

When Fox News reported his post and noted his threat to charge for assault, he responded with a follow-up that broadened the scope further, doubling down by noting he would add battery to the charges as well. 

“I should probably clarify, assault and battery,” he wrote.

The WNBA did issue its own official punishment for the foul, but it stops well short of a court proceeding. She would also have to pay a $1,000 fine. Whether she will face further sanctions for her social media conduct remains to be seen.

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