At 6:52 remaining in the second quarter of the Indiana Fever’s (10-8) eventual 111-109 home loss to the Phoenix Mercury (6-13) on Wednesday night, Phoenix’s Alyssa Thomas made “egregious” and a shockingly uncalled physical contact with former Hawkeye legend Caitlin Clark, when the Mercury forward pushed her fist into Clark’s throat and then stepped over her.
In her postgame media availability, Fever head coach Stephanie White called the play a “cheap shot” and pointed to continued inconsistency in the game and the league’s officiating as a whole. Clark left the game with 5:15 to play in the third quarter because of a back issue that was aggravated when she came down on a defender’s foot after shooting a 3-pointer.
After a league-initiated review of the incident, the WNBA has upgraded Thomas’ throat punch on Clark to a Flagrant 2 penalty, which carries an automatic one-game suspension. The WNBA ruled that Thomas “recklessly” made contact with Clark and “committed a non-basketball act.”
As a result of the WNBA’s decision to suspend the former Maryland Terrapin, she will miss the Mercury’s game on Saturday at the Toronto Tempo.
“Per WNBA rule, the League Office has the option, following its review of any game, to reclassify a Flagrant foul or to classify as Flagrant any foul not called as such during a game and may impose a fine and/or suspension,” the WNBA said in its statement on Thursday afternoon.
For Thomas, the incident with Clark is not an isolated incident, as she has developed a reputation for countless aggressive and, at times, needlessly reckless plays.
Thomas threw then-Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese to the floor in 2024 and elbowed Washington Mystics’ forward Kiki Iriafen in the throat in 2025. Neither incident resulted in a suspension of any kind by the league.
Perhaps one of the most notable incidents involving Thomas occurred during the 2025 WNBA Playoffs semifinals against the Minnesota Lynx, when she ran through the legs of Lynx forward Napheesa Collier while attempting a steal in the closing seconds of the game. No foul was called; meanwhile, Collier left the game in pain and later revealed that she had torn three ligaments in her ankle on the play.
As for Clark, her status for Saturday’s home matchup against the Los Angeles Sparks remains undetermined, as the team has not yet disclosed the severity of her back injury. Clark has been dealing with back soreness throughout the season so far, which has had the two-time WNBA All-Star listed on the Fever’s injury report as “probable” for the past 13 games.
Whether the one-game suspension to Thomas is enough for the Fever fan base to accept as “justice” for the egregious act is obviously up for debate, but the league has at least taken a stand on the issue.
The Fever and Mercury will play each other again at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Ariz., on July 9 in the final regular-season matchup between the two.
Contact/Follow us @HawkeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Iowa news, notes, and opinions. Follow Scout on X: @SpringgateNews
This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: WNBA upgrades non-call involving Caitlin Clark, suspends Alyssa Thomas
Reporting by Scout Springgate, Hawkeyes Wire / Hawkeyes Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Scout Springgate, Hawkeyes Wire | USA TODAY Network
