Fans Question DiJonai Carrington's Intent on Caitlin Clark Eye Poke After New Video Emerges
The Indiana Fever suffered a 93-69 defeat to the Connecticut Sun on Sunday, which means that Indiana must win two consecutive games against the WNBA's No. 3 seed if they're to remain in the playoffs.
Fever rookie Caitlin Clark had an uncharacteristically poor shooting night. She finished the game with 11 points on 4-17 shooting, which included her going 2-13 from three-point range.
At one point in the first half, Clark was struck in the eye by Sun guard DiJonai Carrington while she was trying to make a pass to Aliyah Boston. While no foul was called on the play, Clark immediately fell to the ground and was seen holding her eye while wincing in pain.
Dijonai Carrington caught Caitlin Clark in the eye on a follow through and the referees missed it pic.twitter.com/djKKqwLkVp
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) September 22, 2024
When it happened in real-time and during the ESPN broadcast's replay, there appeared to be no debate that the eye poke on Clark — who was sporting a black eye after the game ended as a result — was accidental.
However, a new video of an alternate angle of the eye poke has since emerged, which has some fans convinced that Carrington may have poked Clark on purpose.
X user @ABostonPost posted a video of this new angle with the caption, "Video evidence suggests Dijonai Carrington may have intentionally hit Caitlin Clark early in the first quarter of the Sun v. Fever playoff game, resulting in a black eye.
No foul was called. The needs to investigate immediately. Does this look unintentional to you?"
🚨Video evidence suggests Dijonai Carrington may have intentionally hit Caitlin Clark early in the first quarter of the Sun v. Fever playoff game, resulting in a black eye.
— The Boston Post (@ABostonPost) September 23, 2024
No foul was called. The #WNBA needs to investigate immediately. Does this look unintentional to you? pic.twitter.com/ue2Sf03e9O
Another X user who posted the same video wrote, "Like I thought it was entirely accidental until I saw this angle. Who does this '🤏' when they bring a hand down…".
Barstool president Dave Portnoy noticed Carrington's nails, writing, "Why does the @WNBA let players wear gigantic nails if they use them as weapons? We're lucky CC didn't lose an eye here.
(Reminder no foul called and Caitlin played with 1 eye the rest of game and had her worst shooting performance in months after this)".
Why does the @WNBA let players wear gigantic nails if they use them as weapons? We're lucky CC didn't lose an eye here.
— Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) September 23, 2024
(Reminder no foul called and Caitlin played with 1 eye the rest of game and had her worst shooting performance in months after this) https://t.co/557Fje1UQm
Another X user referenced how Clark poked Carrington's eye later in the game, saying, "lol that was intentional, the motion makes it intentional, but cc also got her in the game, so we good".
For the record, Carrington's eye poke was likely accidental. But given her standing among the Fever's fanbase, it's no surprise they're claiming otherwise.
Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.