Former NFL MVP Boomer Esiason isn’t one to hold back his opinion on anything going on in the sports world. Therefore, his assessment of the situation in the WNBA involving DiJonai Carrington, her racism claim, and Sophie Cunningham should come as a shock to no one.
Esiason’s opinion on the matter – and specifically the question he posed to his WFAN radio listeners – is one many sports fans seem to share.
Carrington’s hard foul on Cunningham during the first quarter of the Chicago Sky-Indiana Fever contest on Aug. 8 was headline-worthy in and of itself. The fact that Carrington jumped on Instagram Threads and posted “WHITE PRIVILEGE,” seemingly insinuating that her ejection following the foul had something to do with her being a black woman and Cunningham being a white woman, took things to a level we’ve frankly never seen before.
DiJonai Carrington of the Chicago Sky fouls Sophie Cunningham of the Indiana Fever during the first half Aug. 8, 2026, at the United Center in Chicago, Ill. (Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
SOPHIE CUNNINGHAM’S FORMER TEAMMATE APPEARS TO FULLY ENDORSE DIJONAI CARRINGTON’S FLAGRANT FOUL ON FEVER STAR
“She immediately gets on her phone and puts out a post on Threads talking about white privilege. How is everybody supposed to react to that?” Esiason asked his co-host, Gregg Giannotti during Tuesday’s edition of ‘Boomer and Gio.’ “What are the opinions we are all supposed to have when you do something that stupid?
“I think because of the timeline of everything, because of, if you want to call it, the jealous nature, the legitimate hatred for somebody because of what they believe in and because of what they look like and because of how popular they are, I could say it’s a targeted attack.”
Giannotti agreed with Esiason’s take about Carrington’s foul on Cunningham being a target attack, saying, “Clearly, and I think most people believe that.”
Boomer Esiason at The Paley Center for Media – Kicking Off Super Bowl LVIII on CBS with “THE NFL TODAY” Red Carpet held at The Paley Museum on January 17, 2024 in New York City, New York. (Photo by John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images) (John Nacion/Variety via Getty Images)
Carrington’s foul on Cunningham was ruled a Flagrant 2 after a video review on the court, which results in an automatic ejection. The WNBA has not addressed Carrington’s foul or her post about white privilege, despite multiple inquiries made by OutKick.
As Esiason alluded to when discussing “what they believe in” while talking about Cunningham and the ongoing situation, her sharing of those beliefs as it relates to the timeline of the events is impossible to ignore.
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Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham reacts to game action against the Portland Fire during the first half at Moda Center in Portland, Ore., on July 31, 2026. (IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
Following an ESPN story published on July 21, Cunningham has been on the receiving end of serious pushback after explaining that she does not believe women should have to compete against biological men.
“I got a lot of negative feedback about me hating trans. And I’m like, ‘I never once said that,'” Cunningham told the outlet. “I think that I am here to extend love. But I also think with that love is truth, being honest. And I want to protect young girls in a locker room, or young girls in sport who shouldn’t have to go against biological men.”
“I’m very much in the middle. I agree with things on both sides, disagree with things on both sides,” Cunningham continued. “And that’s all I’ve ever said about my political beliefs. But people love to assume.”
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A New York Times poll conducted in March 2025 found that 79% of Americans believe that men should be barred from competing in women’s sports.
Carrington suited up for the Sky on Monday, the team’s first contest since the incident involving Cunningham, and scored 26 points in 27 minutes in her team’s 97-88 loss to the Seattle Storm.
