INDIANAPOLIS — Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas has received a Flagrant 2 penalty and a one-game suspension for her “recklessly making contact with her first to the throat area of Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark” on Wednesday, the WNBA announced Thursday afternoon.
The incident happened around the six-minute mark of the second quarter, the second of two straight games between the Fever and the Mercury. Clark fell to the ground while trying to keep control of the ball, managing to push it out to Aliyah Boston. Multiple defenders, including Thomas, DeWanna Bonner and Lexi Held, descended on Clark to attempt a steal.
Even after the ball rolled out to Boston, Thomas appeared to knee Clark in the groin multiple times. Thomas then pressed her closed fist into Clark’s neck. After that, Thomas got up and stepped over Clark’s legs as Clark writhed on the ground.
Officials did not call a foul of any kind throughout the entire play.
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“Player safety should be paramount in our league,” Fever President Kelly Krauskopf said Thursday in a statement. “We appreciate the WNBA’s review of last night’s incident and the action taken. Right now our focus is on Caitlin and our entire team as we prepare for Saturday.”
In a fiery postgame press conference, Fever coach Stephanie White said officials told her they did not see the play.
“The fist in the throat is crazy. It’s crazy. It’s dangerous,” White said. “… When you have these things continue to happen time and time and time again, eventually it gets frustrating, but I thought those were just more egregious.”
Later in the game, Clark checked out at the 5:15 mark of the third quarter, went back to the locker room, and did not return. The Fever later ruled her out for the rest of the game.
“I’m not sure if it had any impact on her health or not, but it was egregious, the fact that it was a no-call,” White said on Wednesday night. “I heard about it at halftime, I brought it to the attention of the officials at halftime … Absolutely disrespectful. We have a generational talent and a WNBA superstar who had two cheap shots right there that weren’t called, and again, absolutely unacceptable.”
Thomas will serve her one-game suspension on Saturday, when the Mercury play the Tempo in Toronto.
This story was updated with a Fever team statement.
Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at chloe.peterson@indystar.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar TV: Fever for in-depth analysis, behind-the-scenes coverage and more.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: WNBA punishes Alyssa Thomas for ‘recklessly making contact’ with fist to Caitlin Clark’s throat
Reporting by Chloe Peterson, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
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By Chloe Peterson, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
