Connecticut Suns guard Di'Jonai Carrington stuck her long fingernails into Kaitlyn Clark's eye during the Suns' 93-69 win over the Indiana Fever in the WNBA playoffs on Sunday.
Carrington struck Clark while attempting to block a pass in the first quarter. Slow-motion video showed Carrington bending his hand as he came down to block and digging his claws into Clark's face. No foul was called on the play.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Carrington denied deliberately trying to injure Clark's eye.
“I don't know why I tried to hit somebody in the eye,” Carrington said. “It just doesn't make sense to me. But it's not like that. I actually didn't know I hit her. I was just trying to hit the ball and I just carried on and it hit her. So it was obviously not intentional. I'm not that type of player.”
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Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark reacts after being hit in the eye during Game 1 of the 2024 WNBA Playoffs first round against the Connecticut Suns at Mohegan Sun Arena on September 22, 2024 in Uncasville, Connecticut. (M. Anthony Nesmith/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Carrington was seen laughing with Suns teammate Marlena Mabry late in the game, but she said she wasn't laughing about inflicting bruises on Clark.
“You can't laugh about something you didn't know about,” Carrington said.
Clark told reporters on Tuesday that he doesn't believe Carrington intentionally hit him in the eye.
“It was never intentional. You just watch the play and you can tell. It was not intentional,” Clark said.
Carrington has antagonized Clark and fans in the past. During a game in June, Carrington fouled Clark after Clark received an inbounds pass from teammate Christy Wallace. Clark caught the pass and began to drive toward the basket. Carrington was delayed in getting close to Clark due to a screen from Aaliyah Boston, causing her to collide with Clark.
Connecticut Suns guard Di'Jonai Carrington (21) fouls Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) during the second half of a WNBA game in Indianapolis on August 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)
Carrington didn't like the call and thought Clark had exaggerated the foul, so he began taunting the Fever rookie, making the gesture while being booed by the home crowd.
After the game, Carrington posted a hateful message to X saying, “But I'm a racist, jealous, son of a bitch, hater and would have to go back to Africa if I did that? Please. Like I said, this is basketball.”
Carrington then responded to a random X-user who wrote, “If the races were reversed, Carrington would have been ejected,” to which a WNBA player wrote, “Paul, BFFR!”
Later that month, Carrington wrote another post on X saying Clark should be more vocal about people using her name for “racism” and other prejudices.
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Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) reacts to a foul during the first quarter of Game 1 of the first round of the 2024 WNBA Playoffs at Mohegan Sun Arena on September 22, 2024 in Uncasville, Connecticut. (Mark Smith-Imagn Images)
“Come on. How can you not care that your name is being used to justify racism, bigotry, misogyny, xenophobia, homophobia, and all of the intersections of those things? Funny,” Carrington wrote. “We are all aware of that (shit). We all have a platform. We all have power and all of those things carry weight. Silence is a luxury.”
On August 28, after the Fever defeated the Sun 84-80 in Indiana, Carrington posted on X criticizing Indiana fans.
“The Indiana Fever have the meanest fans in the West,” Carrington wrote.
The poke in Carrington's eye marked the latest controversial physical incident involving Clark and a WNBA opponent this year.
Chicago Sky player Diamond DeShields sent Clark flying across the floor, which was later upgraded to a flagrant foul on Aug. 30. After the game, DeShields posted a screenshot of a notification list on Instagram that included a string of hateful comments.
Clarke was the subject of an infamous illegal hip check by Sky forward Chennedy Carter on June 1. Carter refused to answer questions about the incident in his post-game press conference but took to social media to criticize Clarke.
Angel Reese, a Sky recruit and Clark's longtime college rival, hit Clark in the head with her arm while trying to block a pass during a game on June 16. Reese says Clark's fans have launched racist attacks against her and even sent her explicit AI images.
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Diamond DeShields of the Chicago Sky was charged with a flagrant foul after colliding with Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever on Aug. 30, 2024, at Wintrust Arena in Chicago. (Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
Former NBA All-Star Joakim Noah suggested the Fever solve this problem by signing a player who could counter opposing teams that were too physically strong for Clark.
“If I owned the Indiana Fever, I'd hire a real enforcer to protect her,” Noah told Fox News Digital earlier this month. “I feel like she's taking a hit sometimes because she's such a talented person.”
“But at the end of the day, we're in business to win games, so if I were the (Indiana Fever) owner, I'd have a real enforcer in there.”
The Fever and Sun meet Wednesday in the second of their opening three playoff games, but Clark and company are one loss away from ending their season.
“We can win,” Clark said. “It's not about the building. It's not about the gym. It's not about the basketball. I have every confidence in this team, everybody in the locker room does, and I know we'll be better on Wednesday.”
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