Connecticut Sun player DiJonai Carrington has speedily emerged as one of the WNBA’s rising stars.
However, Carrington recently shared with the public a disturbing glimpse into the backlash she’s faced at the hands of Caitlin Clark fans over the last few weeks.
Known for her on-court prowess, Carrington earned the “Most Improved Player” honor in her fourth season, and she recently took to social media to reveal some of the hateful messages she’s received from Clark’s fan base.
Taking to her Instagram Story on Thursday, Sept. 26, she posted a threatening email she received that included a racial slur and the violent threat of sexual assault.
The email read, “Worthless n—ga b—ch I hope someone r-pes you and cuts your head off.”
In response, Carrington captioned, “Can’t make ts up. Sent to my email. Yall need Jesus fr.”
DiJonai Carrington shares a graphic email on her IG story.
We need to protect WNBA players better. pic.twitter.com/ZK03bQdUcO
— Xavier Hunter (@_XavierHunter) September 25, 2024
The post, which has since expired, prompted widespread concern. One fan captured it and commented, “We need to protect WNBA players better.”
The hostility is reportedly linked to supporters of Indiana Fever’s Caitlin Clark. Many people, mostly her white fan base, have been up in arms about how Clark is treated on the court— usually directing their outrage at her Black opponents.
On Wednesday, Sept. 25, when Clark didn’t like how a fan was heckling her on the court in Game 2 of the Indiana-Connecticut first-round playoff series she got him tossed out. Connecticut won that home game 87-81 to sweep the best-of-three series 2-0.
Clark’s fan base has also been vocal with their hate for the Sun’s Black players, heckling them, but none of their players was able to get a fan ejected.
The abuse seemed to spark up more, especially after the Sun eliminated the Fever, robbing the Rookie of the Year a chance to go deeper in the playoffs in her first season in the league.
The rivalry reached such a boiling point during the intense matchups that some of Clark’s fans directed their frustration at Carrington on multiple occasions.
“The same ppl who wanna act like #CaitlinClark was ‘attacked’ by DiJonai Carrington have nothing to say about Caitlin Clark damn near ripping DiJonai’s eye out afterwards,” one X user tweeted on Sept. 23. “Playing for the ball vs reaching back off of contact towards someone’s eye and rip out their contact.”
The same ppl who wanna act like #CaitlinClark was “attacked” by DiJonai Carrington have nothing to say about Caitlin Clark damn near ripping DiJonai’s eye out afterwards.
Playing for the ball vs reaching back off of contact towards someone’s eye and rip out their contact. pic.twitter.com/bQjKVA9aJM
— GC4* (@GodzChild4eva) September 23, 2024
The social media user was referring to Game 1 of the Fever-Sun series, when Carrington poked Clark in the eye while trying to block a pass, leaving the rookie’s eye blackened. No foul was called on the play, and the Sun player contends it was an accident, despite fans believing she intentionally tried to use her nail extensions to hurt Clark. Later in the game Clark swiped Carrington across the face, knocking out the Sun player’s contact lens. Carrington was awarded a foul on the play.
Clark also noted that the scratch was not “intentional” and told her fans to watch the play.
The vitriol kept coming.
Another person tweeted, “Alerting fans of DiJonai, the Connecticut Sun, and the #WNBA as a whole to this disgusting, pathetic excuse for a human being, who is actually praying for Dijonai to get hurt. Block toxic people like this to cleanse your tl. This is EXACTLY what Carrington was talking about,” posting comments like “Dijonai gets hurt idc I hate that b—ch with my entire f—king life.”
The same Clark fan added, “Hope Dijonais eye contact infects her” and “I pray the absolute worst on Dijonai. Hate that b—ch so much.”
Alerting fans of DiJonai, the Connecticut Sun, and the #WNBA as a whole to this disgusting, pathetic excuse for a human being, who is actually praying for Dijonai to get hurt. Block toxic people like this to cleanse your tl. This is EXACTLY what Carrington was talking about. pic.twitter.com/pNmLhWi67P
— Mia (@miaonfilm) September 22, 2024
On Sept. 25, a fan who attended the Fever game against the Sun noted Carrington being mocked with “racist” taunts about her nails and eyelashes.
“I’m at the Sun/Fever game and the vibe is HORRENDOUS,” they wrote. “The woman behind me was mocking DiJonai’s eyelashes & only stopped when my partner turned around & told her to stop being racist. There’s a man in a MAGA hat. Then there’s THIS woman in a “ban nails” shirt & cartoonishly fake nails”
Another fan placed blame directly on the WNBA, writing, “Two major things that happened earlier today, way before Indiana lost, and now ya wanna say something. You let Dijonai Carrington get interrogated and face death threats. Not to mention all the sh-t that has gone on since this season started. DO BETTER WNBA.”
While it is unclear why she posted the correspondence from the nasty fan, the WNBA was quick to shoot out a response that covered all cares of racial bigotry from fans, players, franchises, and anyone in the league’s ecosphere.
— WNBA (@WNBA) September 26, 2024
“The WNBA is a competitive league with some of the most elite athletes in the world. 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.
Adding, “League security is actively monitoring threat-related activity and will work directly with teams and arenas to take appropriate measures, to include involving law enforcement, as necessary.”
Despite Clark’s attempts to distance herself from the actions of her more hostile supporters— remarking earlier this year, “Everybody in our world deserves the same amount of respect” — the situation has only worsened.
The Sun’s Alyssa Thomas also weighed in, reflecting on the season’s intensity and labeling the racial abuse from Clark’s fan base as “unacceptable.”
“Basketball is headed in a great direction, but we don’t want fans that are gonna degrade us…It’s uncalled for and something needs to be done, whether it’s them checking their fans, or this league checking it. There’s no time for it anymore.” -Alyssa Thomas
(via Women… pic.twitter.com/H5rqf6CWCb
— We Need To Talk (@WeNeedToTalk) September 26, 2024
“Basketball is headed in a great direction, but we don’t want fans that are gonna degrade us,” Thomas said. “There’s no time for it anymore.”
For Carrington, however, the hate mail and online attacks continue.
While her Instagram highlights her accomplishments this season, her X profile has been wiped clean, likely a response to the relentless harassment. Despite Clark’s repeated calls for civility, the fallout from their on-court clash shows no signs of abating.
