WNBA suspends Alyssa Thomas for punching Caitlin Clark’s throat
The WNBA suspended Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas for one game after officials upgraded her uncalled throat contact against Caitlin Clark to a Flagrant 2 foul upon review.
The incident occurred with 6:52 remaining in the second quarter when Thomas made contact with her fist to Clark’s throat, according to New York Post. Despite the severity of the action, officials failed to call any foul during live play.
League officials later reviewed the game footage and classified the play as a non-basketball act, issuing Thomas a Flagrant Foul 2 penalty. The WNBA maintains authority to review games after completion to reclassify fouls or upgrade uncalled incidents to Flagrant status.
Thomas will serve her suspension Saturday when Phoenix travels to face the Toronto Tempo.
Fever head coach Stephanie White did not mince words when addressing the officials’ failure to make the call in real time. It was egregious, White stated after the game, expressing frustration that such contact occurred despite awareness of physical play from a previous contest just two nights earlier.
This marks the second time in recent memory that the league has upgraded a foul committed against Clark. Last season, Marina Mabrey of Connecticut received what was initially called a technical foul in a game against Indiana, which the WNBA later upgraded to a Flagrant 2.
Escalating Physicality Between Teams
The two franchises met Monday night in an equally contentious affair that saw six technical fouls called and one player ejection. Clark herself picked up her fifth technical of the season in that contest. Though the Fever petitioned the league to rescind the technical, the WNBA confirmed it will stand.
The physical nature of Monday’s game clearly carried over to Wednesday’s rematch, which Phoenix won 111-109.
Clark Battles Through Back Injury
Clark left Wednesday’s contest in the third quarter while dealing with a back issue that appeared to stem from a hard foul on a 3-point attempt in the second quarter. After the play, she fell to the ground and was seen rubbing her back as she got up.
Earlier in the first quarter, Clark had briefly retreated to the tunnel and returned to the bench wearing a wrap around her back. Despite the injury concerns, she managed to finish the game with 19 points and eight assists in 20 minutes of action.
With information from New York Post
