Alyssa Thomas Reveals Death Threats Over Clark Play
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- Alyssa Thomas told reporters Tuesday that she, her teammates, and their families received death threats, racist slurs, and threats to children in the week after the June 24 incident, calling the harassment "unacceptable" and "far worse" than anything in her WNBA career.
- Thomas was retroactively given a Flagrant 2 foul and a one-game suspension for placing her fist on Caitlin Clark's throat during a second-quarter loose-ball scramble; Thomas called the contact an "accident" and said she didn't realize it had happened until after the game.
- Phoenix Mercury won the game 111-109 over the Indiana Fever at Gainbridge Field House; no foul was called on the play during the game, and the punishment came only after slow-motion footage went viral.
- Thomas blasted WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert for silence, saying she learned of her suspension "10 minutes before it was put on social media" while Engelbert "remains silent" as players face threats.
- Engelbert issued a statement after Thomas's comments saying the WNBA "vehemently condemns" hate; she had reportedly exchanged texts with Thomas and directed WNBA security to coordinate with Mercury security on player protection.
- Thomas said she does not dispute the suspension itself — "If that's what they felt was necessary in that moment, then so be it" — but stressed the league must do more to protect players whose addresses are leaked and whose families are targeted online.
Why it matters: The episode crystallizes a tension the WNBA keeps hitting: how to police physical play around its biggest star while shielding every player from coordinated online harassment. Thomas's account — death threats, racial slurs, and a commissioner she says went silent — puts direct pressure on Engelbert to publicly address player safety, not just retroactively discipline on-court contact.
