WNBA star DiJonai Carrington has blasted Donald Trump again and called on the league to ‘take action’ against some of the president’s most divisive policies.
The Connecticut Sun player sparked outrage last week for wearing a ‘f*** Donald Trump’ hoodie to an Unrivaled basketball game before reposting the pictures on her X account with the caption: ‘What my hoodie says.’
Trump started his second term on January 20 by issuing an executive order ‘Defending Women from Gender Ideology Extremism,’ which declared the government will only recognize two sexes – male and female.
Any policies, documents or funding deemed to be promoting ‘gender ideology’ will be removed or stopped, it said.
Trump then signed another order, ‘protecting children from chemical and surgical mutilation’ on January 28, which stops the funding and promotion of gender-affirming care for anyone under 19.
He also restored US participation in two international anti-abortion pacts, including one that cuts off US family planning funds for foreign organizations if they provide or promote abortions.
WNBA star DiJonai Carrington wore an anti-Donald Trump hoodie to Unrivaled last week
Now she has called on the WNBA to ‘take action’ against some of the president’s policies
He reinstated the Mexico City Policy, which opponents call the ‘global gag rule’ because they say it silences abortion advocates.
Established by Reagan in 1984, it has been rescinded by each Democratic president since then and reinstated when a Republican returns to the White House.
Now Carrington has demanded the WNBA take a stand against Trump’s agenda.
During a press conference before an Unrivaled league game on Thursday, she said: ‘We see that some of the policies are already going into action, and, of course, that means that as the WNBA and being at the forefront of a lot of these movements, it’s time for us to also take action.
‘It definitely needs to happen as women, women’s rights being taken away, like, now, LGBTQ rights being taken away now. They haven’t happened yet, but definitely in the works.’
Carrington was embroiled in controversy involving Caitlin Clark last season after she poked her in the eye during the playoffs against Indiana Fever.
Clark had a small amount of bruising from the incident but laughed it off, while Carrington was furious at being asked by USA Today reporter Christine Brennan if the foul was intentional.
‘I don’t even know why I would intend to hit anybody in the eye,’ Carrington said back to her.
‘That doesn’t even make sense to me. But no, I didn’t. I didn’t know I hit her, actually. I was trying to make a play on the ball, and I guess I followed through and I hit her.
‘Obviously it’s never intentional. That’s not even the type of player that I am.’
Carrington was involved in controversy with Caitlin Clark in the last WNBA season
Clark, for her part, never suggested that she thought Carrington set out to hurt her.
‘It wasn’t intentional by any means. Just watch the play,’ she said.
But the question from Brennan sparked a wild backlash from the WNBA Players’ Association, who released an extraordinary statement saying that her question to Carrington was ‘a blatant attempt to bait a professional athlete into participating in a narrative that is false and designed to fuel racist, homophobic and misogynistic vitriol on social media.’
USA Today defended Brennan, answering back with their own statement that said: ‘We reject the notion that the interview perpetuated any narrative other than to get the player’s perspective directly..
‘Christine Brennan is well regarded as an advocate for women and athletes but first and foremost, she’s a journalist.’
