WNBA journalist Christine Brennan recalls heated DeWanna Bonner confrontation over Caitlin Clark
By ERIC BLUM
Journalist Christine Brennan has revealed the details of her confrontation last year with WNBA superstar DeWanna Bonner, after the two clashed during a media availability.
Brennan, who works for USA Today, sparked controversy last year when she asked DiJonai Carrington if she had deliberately poked Caitlin Clark in the eye during Game 1 of the first round playoff series between the Connecticut Sun and Indiana Fever.
When Carrington denied having any malicious intent, Brennan followed up by asking if Carrington and her teammate Marina Mabrey had laughed about it afterwards - a notion that Carrington also disapproved of.
EspnW's Sarah Spain reported on X that Brennan filed a complaint with the league after Carrington's teammate DeWanna Bonner approached her about her line of questioning, which Brennan later denied.
After Brennan's controversial questioning of Carrington, the WNBA players' union issued a scathing statement against Brennan, whom they singled out by name. Now, the details of that confrontation and the immediate aftermath have been revealed in Brennan's new book on Clark and her impact on women's basketball.
'Just a couple of minutes after Carrington’s interview session was over and she walked away, I was standing near the other reporters at the side of the court when her teammate DeWanna Bonner walked toward me,' Brennan's book states, per CNN.
Christine Brennan has revealed the details of her confrontation last year with DeWanna Bonner
The confrontation was during a media availability where Caitlin Clark was the focal point
'You disrespected my teammate,' Bonner said at the time.
'I put out my hand and tried to introduce myself, but Bonner did not want to shake it.'
'You attacked my teammate,' Bonner reportedly said again.
'I motioned to my phone in my hand. "Can I tell you what I said?"'
'I was happy to show her the video I had just taken of Carrington’s answers to my questions. I again tried to introduce myself since Bonner and I had never met, but Bonner wanted no part of that.'
'You attacked my teammate,' Bonner said. That would have been for the third time in a row.
'I tried to introduce myself once more. "I asked her a question to give her a chance to respond to a controversy."'
'You disrespected my teammate,' Bonner said, for reportedly the final time before walking away.
'Bonner never raised her voice, nor did I.'
Brennan revealed the details of the interaction in her upcoming book, released on Tuesday
DiJonai Carrington was asked by Brennan is her eye poke on Clark was intentional last year
News of the interaction between Brennan and Bonner quickly reached an unidentified WNBA official.
'Your questions were fine,' the league official said to Brennan, per her book. 'Unfortunately, most of our players have zero idea what real media exposure is. They don’t know what real coverage is, they have been shielded at college and then they come to the WNBA not knowing what real questions are. Frankly, our players just don’t get it.'
Brennan's book, 'On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women's Sports', will be released on Tuesday.
Since the interaction, Bonner has become Clark's Indiana Fever teammate, and also left the squad, looking for another WNBA opportunity, citing the team was not the right fit.
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