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Sophie Cunningham of the Indiana Fever is fouled by DiJonai Carrington of the Chicago Sky during the first half at United Center on Aug. 8, 2026, in Chicago, Illinois.
Sophie Cunningham of the Indiana Fever is fouled by DiJonai Carrington of the Chicago Sky during the first half at United Center on Aug. 8, 2026, in Chicago, Illinois. (Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

Florida AG Says Sophie Cunningham Hit Would Have Resulted in Charges if Game Had Been Played in His State

 By Johnathan Jones  August 10, 2026 at 6:57am

Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier said the WNBA would have faced a different response in his state after Chicago Sky guard DiJonai Carrington hit Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham during Saturday night’s game.

“The WNBA knows better than to play games down here in Florida, because I’ll be charging people with assault,” Uthmeier wrote on X after the viral incident.

Uthmeier added more context to his statement after Fox News shared his original post on X on Sunday.

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

Do you agree with the attorney general?

The comments came after Carrington was ejected for striking Cunningham in the head and neck in a vicious hit.

Cunningham drove toward the basket for a layup when Carrington chased her from behind and intentionally struck her.

Cunningham fell hard to the floor but immediately got up and confronted Carrington while bleeding from the mouth.

The officials reviewed the contact and assessed Carrington a Flagrant 2 foul, because the hit was blatantly intentional.

The ruling meant Carrington was automatically ejected from the game, a ruling she would later attribute to racism.

Carrington soon thereafter posted “WHITE PRIVILEGE @indianafever” on her Threads account.

Cunningham last month advocated for protecting girls in sports from boys and men pretending to be women.

She has since drawn the ire of much of the left and her peers in women’s basketball, as the WNBA reacts to two former NBA players announcing their intent to join the league and identify as women.

Saturday’s hit on Cunningham came after sports fans have watched Caitlin Clark, her Fever teammate, being targeted by similar hard hits during her three WNBA seasons.

The WNBA has shown no apparent interest in protecting either player, despite the fact that both are big draws for people who likely would otherwise not watch the struggling league.

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