Martina Navratilova was shocked by Indiana Fever’s head coach Stephanie White’s puzzling assessment of Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington’s flagrant 2 foul on Sophie Cunningham. Tempers frayed during the intense WNBA fixture; Carrington committed a hard foul on the Fever guard and subsequently added fuel to the fire with her “white privilege” comment on social media.
Carrington caught Cunningham’s face as the latter attempted a right-handed layup late in the first quarter. Cunningham fell hard to the floor, immediately got to her feet, and confronted Carrington before teammates stepped in between and separated them.
Thanks for the submission!
After a review, the foul was upgraded to a flagrant two foul, resulting in Carrington’s automatic ejection. After the Fever’s win, Cunningham clearly stated that Carrington’s “unnecessary” challenge was “intentional”; she had “no reason to be doing any of that.”
However, Cunningham’s coach Stephanie White had a completely different take on it. White felt that while the decision to eject Carrington was the correct call, she didn’t buy the notion that Carrington had any ill intent behind it.
“Yeah, I mean, look, it was a hard foul. I don’t think that 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. But you know, one of the things about Nay is that she’s gonna play her butt off, man. She’s gonna compete. Nobody’s gonna go walking in for a layup. And so, I don’t oppose the hard foul. But I also don’t think that she intentionally went for the neck,” White said.
Martina Navratilova was stunned by White’s viewpoint and struggled to accept it. While weighing in on the incident, the 18-time Grand Slam champion declared that it was “intentional” and “dangerous” from Carrington.
“Clark can’t believe what the coach is saying. Neither can I. Of course it was intentional and dangerous,” Martina Navratilova responded on X.
The latest controversy erupted when Sophie Cunningham faced the wrath on social media for her stance against the inclusion of transgender women athletes in female sports.
In the aftermath of her statement, two-time Women’s FIFA World Cup champion Megan Rapinoe ripped the 29-year-old while speaking on The View. Carrington reacted to the viral clip on social media and dropped a three-word response: “Clock it, Megan.”
Martina Navratilova slams Golden State Valkyries’ HC for Cunningham criticism
Apart from the latest controversy, Sophie Cunningham faced heat from Golden State Valkyries head coach Natalie Nakase, who slammed the Indiana Fever guard for her statement on transgender women.
In her response, which is considered a direct reply to the 29-year-old, Nakase supported the inclusion of transgender women athletes in female sports while drawing a connection between the hot-button issue and her personal experience.
“I’m big on that just because I have been criticized for my height, for my ethnicity. I’ve been in those ‘you shouldn’t belong here’ moments many times. And for me, I don’t want that space, especially Golden State, to ever feel like that. So I’m all about women, little girls deserving to play, and that includes trans women. So I’m all about inclusivity,” Nakase said.
Martina Navratilova was astounded by Nakase’s “ignorance” as she questioned her ideology and wrote on X:
“Who are these women???? I mean Wt*…”
“How is including males on women’s team inclusive for the female athlete who lost that spot to a male? The ignorance is astounding,” she added.
Martina Navratilova has consistently defended Cunningham from her critics and other players who have faced heat for taking a stand against the inclusion of transgender women athletes.
Edited by Pritha Ghosh
