“Pls leave me alone” – DiJonai Carrington seemingly jabs at Caitlin Clark’s fans for nail-shaming in eye-poke incident
Since Game 1 of the Connecticut Sun-Indiana Fever playoff series, DiJonai Carrington has received criticism from Caitlin Clark fans. While Carrington has made it clear that hitting Clark in the face was entirely accidental, and Clark has shot down any notion of the hit being intentional, Carrington has been on the receiving end of criticism, and even a racist death threat.
On Saturday, ahead of Game 1 of the Connecticut Sun’s second-round series against the Minnesota Lynx on Sunday, DiJonai Carrington took to her Instagram story. In a video post, she gave fans a glimpse of her nails, while taking a jab at those who alleged she used long nails to poke Caitlin Clark in the eye.
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“I’ve loved rockin my short, natural nails ALL season. Pls leave me alone”
DiJonai Carrington (@dijonai__) – Instagram
DiJonai Carrington and WNBPA respond to reporter for questions regarding Caitlin Clark eye poke
After the Game 1 incident between DiJonai Carrington and Caitlin Clark, outspoken critics on social media called her out for two reasons. One, some believed the blow was intentional, and two, they questioned why DiJonai Carrington and other WNBA players were allowed to have long nails.
Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy and many WNBA fans took to social media to criticize Carrington’s nails.
Then, prior to Game 2, after a morning practice, Carrington was asked about the situation by longtime reporter Christine Brennan. First, Brennan asked whether Carrington intentionally hit Clark in the face.
When the Sun star made it clear that she was initially unaware she hit Caitlin Clark in the face, Brennan followed up, asking for clarification on what appeared to be a clip of Carrington smiling and laughing with one of her teammates.
In response to the pair of questions, the WNBPA released a statement, calling out Brennan for allegedly abusing her media privileges, and attempting to bait a player into participating in a narrative they called “racist, homophobic, and vitriolic.”
“To unprofessional members of the media like Christine Brennan:
“You are not fooling anyone. That so-called interview in the name of journalism was a blatant attempt to bait a professional athlete into participating in a narrative that is false and designed to fuel racist, homophobic, and misogynistic vitriol on social media. You cannot hide behind your tenure.”
In response, USA Today released a statement of their own, indicating that they were standing behind Brennan and her questions while rejecting any claims of the reporter attempting to bait Carrington into participating in a narrative.
