The WNBA handed down a suspension to Phoenix Mercury star Alyssa Thomas for laying hands on Caitlin Clark's neck during a recent game. That decision (predictably) is not sitting well with the rest of the team.
Taking to Threads yesterday, Mercury forward Natasha Mack declared that she is standing by Thomas and hopes for the suspension to get rescinded.
"It’s FREE AT until AT FREE!! standing with my bestie," Mack wrote.
Mercury associate head coach Kristi Toliver also showed her support for Thomas, invoking former First Lady Michelle Obama and writing “When they go low, we go high” on her Instagram Story.
The Suspension
The WNBA suspended Alyssa Thomas for one game on Thursday after reviewing an incident from the Women's National Basketball Association game between the Phoenix Mercury and the Indiana Fever. The league upgraded the play to a Flagrant Foul 2, ruling that Thomas had "recklessly made contact with her fist to the throat area" of Caitlin Clark during a loose-ball scramble in the second quarter.
No foul was called during the game, but the WNBA exercised its authority to review the play after the fact and imposed the suspension. Thomas will serve the suspension in Phoenix's next game against the Toronto Tempo.
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The incident sparked widespread debate because it came during an already physical stretch of games involving the Fever and because Fever head coach Stephanie White sharply criticized the officiating, calling the no-call "egregious" and "utterly disrespectful."
The suspension fueled further discussion about player safety, the league's handling of physical play involving Clark, and whether officials should have ejected Thomas during the game itself. Reaction to the punishment was mixed, with some observers arguing a one-game suspension was appropriate under league rules, while others believed the penalty was either too lenient or too harsh given the circumstances.
