A WNBA fan returned to the stands on Wednesday night after Chicago Sky star DiJonai Carrington had him ejected for an “unfounded” complaint.
The ejection occurred during the fourth quarter of Wednesday night’s matchup between the Chicago Sky and the Golden State Valkyries in San Francisco, when one fan was escorted out of his seat. Later, the fan returned to his seat after officials found the complaint against him “unfounded.”
“The fan was cooperative after a complaint that was unfounded,” a Valkyries official told ClutchPoints.
An official from the Chicago Sky told ClutchPoints that the fan received a warning, per the New York Post.
The Sky told ClutchPoints that the fan was given a warning but declined to comment otherwise.
Officials spoke to Sky head coach Tyler Marsh before Carrington spoke with a referee and a Sky staff member, who seemed to tell them what the fan had said.
That same Sky staff member then briefly spoke to the fan, who later could be seen laughing on camera with the woman sitting next to him and the fans seated behind him.
Carrington was seen speaking with officials before security escorted the fan out.
“I don’t know what was or wasn’t said. I will say respect for the players is something, especially right now, that is being taken very seriously by everybody around the league, as it should be,” one USA commentator said.
The incident comes days after Carrington was ejected from the Chicago Sky game against the Indiana Fever after she clotheslined Sophie Cunningham as she went in for a layup. Later, in the locker room, Carrington posted “WHITE PRIVILEGE” while tagging the Indiana Fever on her Threads account. She later said that she did not contest the foul.
“I’ve never once claimed that the assessment of the foul was white privilege (that was your assumption),” she wrote on X. “Try exercising your critical thinking skills; I know you studied psych. Furthermore, I’m the LAST thing from ignorant or asinine when it comes to speaking on ‘white privilege’; do ya research on that one. I actually went to school, one of the top universities, might I add, to educate myself on this exact subject. I would never use that term as a rhetorical weapon, knowing the historical and social weight it holds, without having the proper evidence to substantiate it.”