Sarah Spain Clarifies Report on Christine Brennan's Alleged Confrontation, WNBA Complaint With Sun Star

Sarah Spain set the record straight on her viral report of USA Today reporter Christine Brennan filing a complaint after an alleged confrontation between her and Connecticut Sun star DeWanna Bonner.
Oct 1, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Connecticut Sun forward DeWanna Bonner (24) reacts during the second half of game two of the 2024 WNBA Semi-finals against the Minnesota Lynx at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images
Oct 1, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Connecticut Sun forward DeWanna Bonner (24) reacts during the second half of game two of the 2024 WNBA Semi-finals against the Minnesota Lynx at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images / Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

One of the most fascinating stories from the women's basketball community over the past few weeks has been the aftermath of USA Today reporter Christine Brennan's question to Connecticut Sun star DiJonai Carrington about her poking Caitlin Clark's eye during a WNBA playoff game.

This question incited much controversy, especially after the WNBPA called her out over social media for it. It also led to a reported altercation between Brennan and Carrington's Sun teammate DeWanna Bonner, who was upset about the question posed.

This story took a turn on Monday when Sarah Spain — who did an October 7 episode of the "Good Game With Sarah Spain" podcast with Brennan — posted on X, "Two sources have since confirmed that Christine filed a complaint with the league regarding the exchange [with Bonner]."

Brennan then came out and refuted this claim, responding to Spain over X, "Hi Sarah, this is inaccurate. It is false. I have not filed a complaint. I have not contacted anyone at the league. Your sources are wrong."

This intriguing retort prompted Spain to clarify her initial reporting with an X thread on Tuesday.

"After their exchange Christine called league PR to report a confrontation with DeWanna. Christine says--and the league confirmed--that she didn't officially file a complaint, so 'reported the incident' is more accurate language," Spain wrote.

"One of my original sources said she filed a complaint,' the other said 'reported the incident.' It may be semantics, perhaps those sources even considered those things the same, but I apologize for using 'filed a complaint' instead of 'reported the incident' in my tweet," she added.

"Christine says she didn't contact anyone at the league, which, according to the five sources, is inaccurate. She did, indeed, call league PR to complain."

Spain that expressed regret about not contacting Brennan sooner than she had.

So in short, Spain's initial report was indeed wrong because she used the wording of "filed a complaint" to the WNBA when Brennen technically didn't file a complaint but instead "reported the incident".

Time will tell whether Brennan offers a response to this.


Published |Modified
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.