Adam Silver Responds to Report He Pushed for WNBA’s Alyssa Thomas Suspension After Caitlin Clark Foul

Adam Silver spoke about a recent report claiming he intervened in the WNBA’s suspension of Alyssa Thomas for her flagrant foul on Caitlin Clark. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

NBA commissioner Adam Silver responded to a recent Sports Business Journal report claiming that Silver persuaded WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert to suspend Alyssa Thomas for pressing her fist into Caitlin Clark’s throat during a Fever-Mercury game on June 24.

The SBJ report claimed that Engelbert was not planning to suspend Thomas over her action until Silver “implored” her to hand down a punishment.

“Sources familiar with the situation said Engelbert initially believed during the evaluation process that -- because no foul was called on the court against Thomas -- a follow-up suspension seemed too steep of a discipline. Meanwhile, those same sources said Silver believed there was clear evidence of a flagrant foul, that he felt badly for Clark and told Engelbert she had to act,” the report read.

Thomas ended up receiving a retroactive Flagrant 2 foul and was fined and suspended for one game for “recklessly” making contact with Clark’s throat.

On Thursday, Silver was asked about his alleged involvement in Thomas’s suspension at CNBC’s annual Game Plan Summit, and he said he wasn’t going to comment on the matter.

“I’m not going to comment on that, because I don't think it's fair to Caitlin [Clark] — and to Cathy Engelbert either. That's not the real issue here,” Silver said.

He later elaborated:

“Let me give you a serious answer to that question. I think that ultimately the issues around Caitlin Clark are not largely about officiating. And that particular incident is not about whether a foul should have been called at the time of the game or whether that was ultimately a flagrant non-review.

“I’ve come to know Caitlin really well. She’s an incredible player and also an incredible person. And she wants to focus on being the best player she can. And she’s become a bit of a political football in this country, and I think it’s incredibly unfair to her. I don’t think that issue is ultimately about officiating. It’s become political ping-pong with her. ... And I don’t even think it’s fair to her that this has become a separate storyline about one foul — should it have been called in time or should it have been called after the fact? That’s my response. People are allowed to think whatever they can, and whatever they want, about our league. But there’s so much to celebrate around the WNBA.”

Silver’s full comments here.

Engelbert was on stage earlier in the afternoon (for a sponsored panel) and was not asked about the report/incident. pic.twitter.com/8Q5zWeJdz6

— Rob Schaefer (@rob_schaef) July 16, 2026

Silver went on to laud the ongoing growth of the W, which was in part due to Clark, and made clear that the WNBA still had its work cut out for them when it came to fairer officiating.

It’s perhaps telling that Silver didn’t mention Thomas’s name once during his spiel, a pretty glaring omission considering the fact that it took two players for that incident to happen, and that Thomas has allegedly faced racial abuse in the wake of the controversial play. Thomas said she received death threats over her foul on Clark and called out the WNBA for not prioritizing player safety. Earlier this week, Aces’ Chelsea Gray also shared a screenshot of a racially abusive message she received following Las Vegas’ loss to the Fever on Sunday night.

Silver, for his part, seemed to tiptoe around the charged racial narratives in the Thomas-Clark incident while focusing instead on how far the WNBA has come since its inception 30 years ago. He declined to give a straightforward answer on whether he did, in fact, intervene in Thomas’s suspension.

Engelbert additionally has yet to comment on this latest development in the incessantly drawn-out suspension saga. Last week, she made headlines for cancelling an appearance on the Dan Patrick Show over presumed “tough” questions about the Clark and the current state of the league. A WNBA spokesperson has since told USA Today that the SBJ report is “absolutely false.”

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