Sophie Cunningham’s former Indiana Fever teammate appeared to take a pointed swipe at her after DiJonai Carrington’s hard foul, adding another layer to the recent transgender-related controversy surrounding the WNBA guard.
Sydney Colson spent the 2025 WNBA season with the Fever, sharing the roster with Cunningham and Caitlin Clark, before suffering a torn ACL and later departing the franchise as a free agent.
On Saturday afternoon, however, Colson seemed to make little effort to conceal her reaction after Cunningham was struck across the head by Chicago Sky player Carrington.
‘I love a trans foul,’ Colson wrote on her Threads account shortly after the incident unfolded.
The play came in the first quarter, with Cunningham driving for a layup when Carrington closed in from behind and caught her around the head and neck area, sending her crashing to the floor as the basket dropped.
Officials ruled the contact a flagrant 2, resulting in Carrington’s ejection from the game. Cunningham and Fever teammate Caitlin Clark were later seen waving as the Sky guard made her way toward the locker room.
Sophie Cunningham’s former teammate appeared to react positively to DiJonai Carrington’s heavy foul
Cunningham attacked the basket before being struck in the face by Carrington
Sydney Colson, who spent the 2025 WNBA season with the Fever wrote she ‘loves a trans foul’
Cameras also caught Cunningham, 29, smiling and clapping at the officials’ decision after footage from moments earlier appeared to show Cunningham call her rival a ‘dumb a** b****’ and shouting: ‘Why the f*** would you do that?’
Following her ejection, Carrington posted on social media from inside the locker room. ‘WHITE PRIVILEGE @indianafever,’ she wrote.
Fever coach Stephanie White also attracted fury on social media after she issued a staunch defense of Carrington in her post-game press conference.
‘One of the things about ‘Nai is she’s going to play her butt off, man,’ said White, who coached Carrington for two years in her last job with the Connecticut Sun.
‘She’s gonna compete, no one’s gonna go walking in for an easy layup, so I don’t oppose the hard foul. But I also don’t think she intentionally went for the neck.’
As well as the Carrington furore, Cunningham has been at the center of a sporting and political firestorm in recent weeks after comments she made about transgender athletes. The 29-year-old said she wants to ‘protect young girls’ from ‘biological men’.
Last week, the WNBA players’ union called out the ‘demonization’ of trans people in the wake of Cunningham‘s comments on protecting women’s sports.
JD Vance and Megan Rapinoe are among those to have waded into the debate, while two former NBA stars – Enes Kanter Freedom and Royce White – have both announced their intention to declare for the 2027 WNBA Draft.
A furious Cunningham had to be held back by teammates after she was floored by a nasty foul
Carrington, who was ejected, later wrote on social media: ‘WHITE PRIVILEGE @indianafever’
The WNBPA has now spoken out, appearing to go against Cunningham’s original comments in a bid to quell the ‘hate’ against the trans community.
In a bombshell statement, the organization said: ‘To everyone who loves this game: The WNBPA represents 200+ individual people with different lived experiences, cultures, lifestyles, and opinions.
‘We embrace justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Those are the values that unite this Union and allow it to protect women’s sports while creating transformational change.
‘Hate, abuse, and demonization of any person or group of people, including transgender people, only fuel fear, division, and harm. We will continue to have hard conversations. But we will not be used as political pawns.
Cunningham’s comments about transgender athletes have sparked protests in recent weeks
‘Support the Players. Support the Fans. At games, notify security if you witness hateful, violent, or abusive behavior. Online, report abusive posts and drown out the bots and bad actors. At home, tell your elected officials to strengthen Title IX.’
In the wake of Cunningham’s initial comments, in the ESPN piece published on July 21, protests both pro and anti-trans were held outside various WNBA arenas.
While some, such as Riley Gaines and Stephen A. Smith, have seemingly sided with the Fever star, others have openly criticized her and booed her on the court.
Recently, the bitter culture war deepened after Golden State Valkyries star Gabby Williams claimed she would happily welcome a trans player to her team.
