DiJonai Carrington from the Connecticut Sun has claimed that her eye poke on Caitlin Clark in Game 1 was not done on purpose. “I don’t even know why I would intend to hit anybody in the eye. That doesn’t even make sense to me. But, no, I didn’t. I didn’t know I hit her, actually,” Carrington said.
The incident happened while Carrington was attempting to defend a pass, resulting in Clark being poked in the eye.
Clark stated that while the poke left its mark, it did not affect her gameplay. “[Carrington] got me pretty good in the eye; I don’t think it affected me,” Clark said.
“I felt like I got good shots. They just didn’t go down—tough time for that to happen. I thought I got some really good looks. Three pretty wide-open 3s in the first half, you usually make,” Clark added.
“I was trying to make a play on the ball, and I guess I followed through, and I hit her. So, obviously, it’s never intentional. That’s not even, like, the type of player that I am,” Carrington said.
Despite Carrington’s denial, numerous observers questioned her sincerity, especially after witnessing her laughing with a teammate shortly after the incident.
Game 2 of the series between the Fever and Sun is scheduled for Friday.
