• Loading stock data...
Friday, October 31, 2025
Want a chance to win $250 and free FOS gear? Take our quick reader survey. Take the survey here

Connecticut Sun Players Call Out ‘Racial’ Comments From WNBA Fans

  • The WNBA condemned “racist, derogatory, or threatening comments” toward players.
  • Dijonai Carrington said she received death threats after Game 1, while Caitlin Clark had a fan temporarily removed in Game 2.
Sep 25, 2024; Uncasville, Connecticut, USA; Connecticut Sun forward Alyssa Thomas (25) reacts during the second half against the Indiana Fever during game two of the first round of the 2024 WNBA Playoffs at Mohegan Sun Arena.
Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images

Caitlin Clark’s first season in the WNBA brought viewership, attendance, and merchandise records. But at the same time, the league and its players are also facing a more insidious problem that sometimes comes with increased attention.

The first-round series between the Indiana Fever and Connecticut Sun highlighted the growing tension between players and fans which has spilled from social media trolling to the arenas. On Thursday, shortly after the Fever were eliminated from the playoffs, the WNBA released a statement denouncing the actions of fans.

“While we welcome a growing fan base, the WNBA will not tolerate racist, derogatory, or threatening comments made about players, teams and anyone affiliated with the league,” the statement read.

What happened in Connecticut

Several Sun players claimed after the game that racial comments were hurled at them throughout the series—despite playing at home.

“I think in my 11-year career, I’ve never experienced the racial comments from the Indiana Fever fan base… Basketball is headed in a great direction, but we don’t want fans that are going to degrade us and call us racial things,” five-time All-Star Alyssa Thomas said. 

Thomas’s teammate, DiJonai Carrington, faced most of the backlash from fans and media following Game 1—when she hit Clark in the eye in the first quarter—claiming the poke was done on purpose. Some claimed Carrington used her fingernails extensions to intentionally hurt Clark.

Carrington and Clark denied the poke was intentional. But Carrington wrote in a now-deleted post on X she received death threats and racist comments via email. NaLyssa Smith, Carrington’s girlfriend who also happens to be Clark’s teammate, confirmed that Carrington had received death threats and claimed she was even followed.

At Game 2 in Mohegan Sun on Wednesday, posts circulated on social media about fans mocking Carrington, with one wearing fake nail extensions and a shirt that said “Ban Nails.” 

Clark also faced her share of fan hate. In the first quarter, she called security to have a fan temporarily removed from his courtside seat. It was unclear what prompted Clark to call security, but NBA players like LeBron James and Russell Westbrook have done the same in recent years.

Fans spewing racial comments at players isn’t new in pro sports. Last year, Celtics star Jaylen Brown said that it’s about a “problematic” portion of his team’s fan base. The father of Grizzlies star Ja Morant also claimed fans made vulgar remarks at him back in 2021. And in 2017, then-Orioles outfielder Adam Jones said a bag of peanuts was thrown at him and was also the target of racial slurs at Fenway Park.

How it started 

The tension among players, fans, and media has been brewing all season—and is a carryover of the rhetoric around the rivalry between Clark and Chicago Sky rookie Angel Reese, which started in college.

Clark and Reese faced off in the NCAA Tournament in each of the last two years, and though the two have been complimentary of one another, fans and media latch onto the rivalry. Early in the WNBA season, a racial component was added by several members of the media, alongside claims that players were jealous over the attention Clark was getting.

In June, the Sky played the Fever, and Clark was hip-checked by Chicago guard Chennedy Carter. The foul was upgraded to a Flagrant 1 by the league after the game, but in the days following, Carter and the Sky claimed they were harassed outside their team hotel in Washington, D.C.

“Find out our teams hotel to pull with a camera as we get off the bus and put it in my teammates face & HARASS her is NASTY WORK,” Reese posted on X.

The W’s position

Earlier this month, at an appearance on CNBC’s Power Lunch, WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert was asked about the “darker turn” the conversation about Clark and Reese has entered on social media.

“It is a little of that [Larry] Bird–Magic [Johnson] moment, if you recall, from 1979, when those two rookies came in from a big college rivalry, one white, one Black. And so we have that moment with these two. But the one thing I know about sports, you need rivalry,” Engelbert said.

WNBA stars including Breanna Stewart and Chelsea Gray rebuked Engelbert’s comments, and WNBPA executive director Terri Jackson released a statement following Engelbert’s appearance, condemning “racist language and homophobic comments.”

“This is not about rivalries or iconic personalities fueling a business model. This kind of toxic fandom should never be tolerated or left unchecked,” Jackson said.

Engelbert responded on X following Jackson’s statement: “To be clear, there is absolutely no place for hate or racism of any kind in the WNBA or anywhere else,” she wrote.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Aug 24, 2025; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Seattle Storm center Dominique Malonga (14) celebrates with Seattle Storm guard Skylar Diggins (4) during the second half against the Washington Mystics at CareFirst Arena.

Dominique Malonga Headlines Unrivaled’s Final Player Announcements

Aari McDonald and Rebecca Allen are also joining Unrivaled.
Dec 10, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) talks with Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) after a game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.

CBS Bets Big on Chiefs-Bills Rivalry As AFC Landscape Changes

Big viewership likely awaits the revival of the NFL rivalry.

ESPN Says No Issues With Its Handling of NBA Gambling Scandal

Viewership for every ESPN studio show was “up significantly.”

Featured Today

September 21, 2025; Santa Clara, California, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell before the game between the San Francisco 49ers and the Arizona Cardinals at Levi's Stadium

NFL Fall Meeting: 7 Big Topics Among Team Owners 

Media, facilities, and labor highlight some of the key areas of concern.
Ohio State Buckeyes running back Isaiah West (32) runs the ball in the second half at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025 in Madison, Wisconsin
October 25, 2025

NIL Has Birthed a Third-Party Cottage Industry—and It’s a Mess

There’s no limit to how much players can make from NIL deals.
Christie's
October 21, 2025

Lou Gehrig’s $4M Jersey and the Exploding Sports Memorabilia Market

An ultra-rare sports collection is about to hit the auction block.
@chef__tezz/Instagram
October 19, 2025

Inside the NFL’s Private Chef Network

Private chefs are the unsung architects of player performance.
Sep 13, 2025; Tokyo, Japan; World Athletics president Sebastian Coe at the World Athletics Championships opening ceremonies at National Stadium.

World Athletics Finds $1.7 Million Stolen by Employees

It will use the “full force of the law” to recuperate losses.
October 28, 2025

WNBA Proposes 30-Day Extension on CBA Negotiations

The CBA expires Oct. 31; a deal is not expected by then.
Terry Rozier
October 29, 2025

NBA Union Says It Will Fight Decision to Withhold Rozier’s Pay

Rozier has one year and $26.3 million left on his contract.
Sponsored

How HOKA is Reimagining the NIL Relationship

TNT Sports is going all-in on college athletics—bringing fans closer and giving brands a powerful new way to connect.
Oct 24, 2025; Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA; Inter Miami CF forward Lionel Messi (10) looks on against Nashville SC during the first half at Chase Stadium.
October 28, 2025

Lionel Messi: MLS Can’t Grow Without More Spending Power

The Inter Miami star recently signed a contract extension through 2028.
Napheesa Collier
October 28, 2025

WNBA, Players Remain Far Apart With CBA Deadline Days Away 

A union lawyer says a deal will not be reached by Friday.
Alexis Ohanian
October 28, 2025

Alexis Ohanian: Angel City Ownership Setup Was a ‘Terrible Idea’

He admits that the NWSL club’s governance was a disaster.
October 28, 2025

Shohei Ohtani’s Historic World Series Game 3 Sets Up High-Stakes Game 4

Ohtani will start Game 4 on the mound after another epic performance Monday.