Fri, June 26, 2026
WNBA suspends Alyssa Thomas for punching Caitlin Clark’s throat, and the league is blasted for poor officiating and lack of protection
The Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), an American professional basketball league, has suspended Phoenix Mercury player, Alyssa Thomas, for punching Indiana Fever player, Caitlin Clark’s, throat, which was labelled a “cheap shot.” Due to incidents like this, the league has continued to be blasted for poor officiating and lack of protection, even with the implementation of its league taskforce which it was urged to create to tackle such ongoing issues with refereeing. Thomas’ suspension will be applied Saturday during a Phoenix Mercury v Toronto Tempo match.
This specific incident occurred on June 24 during a match where Phoenix Mercury eventually won 111-109. In a jostle for the ball, Thomas seemingly kneed Clark in the groin and her closed fist hit Clark’s throat as she fell. Thomas then proceeded to step over Clark.
Much to the frustration of Indiana Fever coach, Stephanie White, the game officials did not call a foul when this occurred. It was the day following the game that the WNBA decided to rule Thomas’ hit as a Flagrant Foul 2 penalty, the most serious type of personal foul in basketball. It is called for unnecessary and excessive contact. This was not the first foul against Clark to be upgraded to a Flagrant Foul after review.
White expressed outrage that “cheap shots” went unpunished during the match and that the esteemed Clark who, for example, scored more total points in college than any other National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division 1 basketball player, male or female, is allegedly officiated and treated differently compared to other players, perhaps with less status.
Less than one minute after the incident with Thomas, Clark was fouled by another Phoenix team member. White fought for this foul to be escalated to a Flagrant Foul too, but the officials opted to categorise it as a common foul. In a match two days before between Phoenix and Fever, six technical fouls were given.
White voiced: “We have a generational talent and a WNBA superstar who had two cheap shots right there that weren’t called…And I just say, again, [it’s] absolutely unacceptable…
No 1, you gotta call it. It’s absolutely egregious and utterly disrespectful…And then No 2, you’re coming in here aware of what happened two nights ago, and that s*** still happens? Absolutely unacceptable.”
In reference to the league taskforce she helped create, White added: “We spent all offseason looking at officiating, and I still say the one thing that we keep asking for is consistency…Clark is not called the same way as everybody else is called. The fist in the throat is crazy. It’s crazy. It’s dangerous…When you have these things continue to happen time and time and time again, eventually it gets frustrating.”
Clark, who was 2024 Rookie of the Year, missed most of last season with groin and ankle injuries, but is consistently posting elite all-around numbers this season, even with a back injury. Numerous other injuries that players have suffered, such as torn ACLs, have been tied to poor officiating.
This has been an ongoing issue for Clark who voiced during her rookie season: “I think at this point I know I’m going to take a couple of hard shots a game, and that’s what it is… I’m trying not to let it bother me.” However, she was also previously fined for a post about referees.
