DeWanna Bonner’s short stint with the Indiana Fever has ended, but her departure is stirring up conversations that go beyond basketball. The veteran forward appeared in only nine games before parting ways with the team. Reports suggest that Bonner, unhappy with her limited role and minutes off the bench, decided to step away, and the Fever eventually waived her.
Her exit has sparked renewed attention to a past incident involving Caitlin Clark and Bonner’s former team, the Connecticut Sun, bringing old tensions back into the spotlight. During a previous game between the Fever and the Sun, Sun guard DiJonai Carrington—now with the Dallas Wings—made contact with Clark’s face while trying to intercept a pass. The moment caused a stir online and was later featured in Christine Brennan’s book On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women’s Sports.
In the book, Brennan details her conversation with Carrington after that game, where she asked if the hit was intentional. Carrington denied it, saying she hadn’t even realized she’d made contact with Clark’s face. She explained that she was simply trying to make a play on the ball and accidentally hit Clark during her follow-through. When Brennan pressed further, asking if Carrington and teammate Marina Mabrey had laughed about it afterward, Carrington again denied it, stating she couldn’t laugh about something she didn’t know had happened.
Bonner, though not directly involved in the incident, stepped in later to defend her teammate. Brennan wrote that Bonner approached her and repeatedly told her she had disrespected Carrington, calling it an attack. Though the exchange was tense, Brennan clarified that neither of them raised their voice, and it was a professional disagreement between a reporter and an athlete.
Now that Bonner has left Indiana, her strong defense of Carrington and the past controversy have resurfaced. Bonner did not reference the incident in her farewell, but the memory of that altercation still lingers. While it’s unclear whether that history influenced her decision to leave the Fever, it serves as a reminder that in today’s WNBA—especially with high-profile players like Caitlin Clark—even small incidents can have lasting impacts.
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