Soccer star Megan Rapinoe has accused sports writer Christine Brennan of being “racist” in the wake of the controversy over Brennan’s questions to WNBA player DiJonai Carrington.
“Obviously hearing it, initially my visceral reaction was like, that’s not good, that doesn’t feel good,” Rapinoe said on the “A Touch More” podcast.
According to The New York Post, Rapino was referring to the controversy over Brennan’s “questioning” of the Sun Guard, Carrington, after Carrington “poked Fever star Caitlin Clark in the eye during their first-round playoff opener.”
“That feels racist, to be honest. That feels like you’re putting DiJonai in an impossible situation,” Rapinoe said on the podcast.
Brennan shared a video of the question to her X page, writing, “I asked DiJonai Carrington about that moment early in Sunday’s Indiana-Connecticut game when she caught Caitlin Clark in the eye. Here’s her answer.”
“Did you, when you went and uh kind of swatted at Caitlin — did you intend to hit her in the eye,” Brennan asked. “And if so, could you just — if not either way, could you talk about what happened on that play?”
Carrington responded, “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. 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 the type of player that I am. So yeah.”
Christine Brennan Asked DiJonai Carrington Whether She Laughed About the Incident
Video of the incident shows Clark holding her face after Carrington made contact while going for the ball.
Brennan continued to question Carrington, saying, “It looked like later on in the game they caught you laughing about it.”
“No, I just told you I didn’t even know I hit her. So, I can’t laugh about something that I didn’t know happened,” Carrington said.
According to The Indianapolis Star, Clark later said she did not believe the eye poke was intentional. She had a black eye from the incident, The Star reported.
According to The Washington Post, Brennan is writing a book about Clark.
In a statement on Instagram, the Women’s National Basketball Players Association blasted Brennan and called for her credentials to be revoked.
“This week was dedicated to celebrating and amplifying A’ja, Caitlin, DiJonai, and Napheesa for their hard work and truly exceptional performances all season long. We were not going to detract from their successes, nor would we dim the glow of the spotlight that centered them. They have earned that focus and celebration,” the statement said. “But we will take this moment now to stand up for them and the rest of our members. Every single one of them. Because we call B.S.”
“To unprofessional members of the media like Christine Brennan: You are not fooling anyone. That so-called interview in the name of journalism 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. You cannot hide behind your tenure,” the statement continued.
“Instead of demonstrating the cornerstones of journalism ethics like integrity, objectivity, and a fundamental commitment to truth, you have chosen to be indecent and downright insincere. You have abused your privileges and do not deserve the credentials issued to you,” the statement continued.
“And you certainly are not entitled to any interviews with the members of this union or any other athlete in sport. Those credentials mean that you can ask anything but they also mean that you know the difference between what you should and should not,” it says. “We see you. Our relationship with the media is a delicate one that we will continue to strengthen because the media is essential to growing the game. No one knows that better than we do. But the players are entitled to better. They are entitled to professionalism.”
The statement concluded: “We call on USA Today Network to review its principles of ethical conduct for newsrooms and address what we believe is a violation of several core principles, including seeking and reporting the truth. USA Today Sports should explain why a reporter with clear bias and ulterior motives was assigned to cover the league. We also urge the league to review its policies and take measures to prevent such issues, protecting the integrity of the game and its players.” The statement was signed by Terri Carmichael Jackson, executive director.
Christine Brennan Defended Herself on a Podcast
Brennan defended herself on another podcast.
“I certainly was surprised,” Brennan said on Sarah Spain’s “Good Game” podcast.
“I didn’t take it lightly. I would never take it lightly. I was surprised to hear from, in this case, the players association . . . that they want to ban me, I thought it was a complete overreaction,” she said.
“I think many, many people in journalism thought the exact same thing as we’ve seen in columns and responses, and that’s fine and I’m heartened by that. If people think it’s fine and I should be banned, of course, it’s a free country, they can say that,” Brennan said on the podcast.
Brennan told the Washington Post that her questions were “journalism 101.”
“It’s something that I have done in the entirety of my career,” she said, according to The Post, “and I think every other journalist has done the entirety of his or her career.”
“We reject the notion that the interview perpetuated any narrative other than to get the player’s perspective directly,” USA Today executive sports editor Roxanna Scott said in a statement to The Post.
Some people defended Brennan. “Christine Brennan has done nothing wrong. This is the pettiest professional sports league I’ve ever seen,” wrote one person on the Players Association comment thread.
But another person wrote, “Yes to this. 1000 times over. 👏 Brennan should lose her credentials. 144 in solidarity ✊🏻”
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