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Fans Question DiJonai Carrington's Intent on Caitlin Clark Eye Poke After New Video Emerges

New video footage of DiJonai Carrington's eye poke on Caitlin Clark has fans feeling like Carrington poked her on purpose.

Grant Young

Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) goes up for a shot against Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington (21) on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, during a game between the Indiana Fever and the Connecticut Sun at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark (22) goes up for a shot against Connecticut Sun guard DiJonai Carrington (21) on Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2024, during a game between the Indiana Fever and the Connecticut Sun at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. / Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK

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.

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 @leighlew3 posted a video of this new angle with the caption, "bro wtf ???"

The same X user who posted the video then 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)".

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.

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Grant Young

GRANT YOUNG

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.

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