The Alyssa Thomas suspension is one game. One.
Thomas, who was traded to Phoenix earlier this year, drove her closed fist into Caitlin Clark’s throat with 6:52 left in the second quarter of Thursday’s Mercury 111-109 win over the Fever. No foul called in real time. The WNBA reviewed it postgame and classified it as a Flagrant 2, a “non-basketball act,” and handed down a one-game ban. Thomas served it Saturday against the Toronto Tempo.
One game. For hitting someone in the throat. Which the league’s own announcement called a “non-basketball act.”
Fever coach Stephanie White went scorched earth immediately. She told reporters postgame it was “absolutely egregious and utterly disrespectful” — she’d actually flagged it to the officials at halftime before the league even reviewed it. After the suspension was announced, she dialed it back to “disappointed it wasn’t recognized in real time but thankful the league did their due diligence.” That’s the polished diplomatic version. The raw one was the real one.
Shannon Sharpe, who agreed Thomas deserved the suspension, said it on Nightcap: “Intent only matters to the individual committing the act. Caitlin Clark’s throat is still hurting, whether she intended to do it or not.”
The number that makes this indefensible is three. Brittney Griner got a 3-game suspension in 2019 for a physical altercation. Alyssa Thomas drives her closed fist into the throat of the most marketable player in the league’s history — an act the league itself called reckless and non-basketball — and she gets one-third of that. The math doesn’t work. The precedent is worse.
The part that really twists the knife: Mercury coach Kristi Toliver posted a photo of herself and Thomas on Instagram Story with the caption “When they go low, we go high — Michelle Obama.” As if Thomas is the aggrieved party. As if Clark’s throat is the one that needs to apologize.
And the WNBA just kind of let that happen. One game and move on.
🚨 BREAKING: Alyssa Thomas gets ONLY 1 GAME suspension for assaulting Caitlin Clark 😤
NBA stars are furious… and the WNBA is staying silent?
Meanwhile, they didn’t even put Caitlin Clark on the new ad poster?!
This is getting ridiculous. Clark is carrying the league and they… pic.twitter.com/kbWkMWx2iq— Reverend Jordan Wells (@WellsJorda89710) June 26, 2026
Every time something ugly happens to Clark, the league blinks. This suspension isn’t even the most embarrassing part — it’s the signal it sends. The WNBA officially classified this contact as reckless and non-basketball, and then handed down a punishment that’ll be forgotten by next week. A press release dressed up as accountability.
One game. Cool. See you next Thursday, Alyssa.
