Alyssa Thomas Receives Stiff Punishment From WNBA After Fist to Caitlin Clark’s Throat

Thomas will now miss the Mercury's game vs. the Tempo on June 27. | Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas has been suspended for one game after “recklessly making contact” with Caitlin Clark’s throat during Phoenix’s 111–109 win over Indiana on Wednesday, the league announced Thursday.

Phoenix Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas Receives Flagrant Foul 2 Penalty and a One-Game Suspension pic.twitter.com/VnDF8M3SXQ

— WNBA Communications (@WNBAComms) June 25, 2026

The incident—for which “Thomas was deemed to have committed a non-basketball act”—occurred toward the end of the game’s second quarter, when Clark went down following contact with a defender. As she then attempted to get rid of the ball while still lying on the ground, Thomas shoved her first into the Fever guard’s throat. There was no whistle.

Shortly after, Clark was mired in another questionable no-call situation, this one involving Phoenix’s Valeriane Ayayi and a reckless-looking closeout. The Iowa export would eventually leave the game in the third quarter due to a back issue, though it's unclear if that was related to the two incidents in the first half.

Unsurprisingly, the league’s inconsistent officiating has once again made headlines in the day since.

“Absolutely disrespectful. We have a generational talent and WNBA superstar who had two cheap shots right there that weren’t called, and I just say again, absolutely unacceptable,” Fever coach Stephanie White said after the game.

Stephanie White when asked about Alyssa Thomas’ play on Caitlin Clark:

"It was egregious. The fact that it was a no-call … You gotta call it. It's absolutely egregious and utterly disrespectful."pic.twitter.com/btARwvPxmD

— Underdog WNBA (@UnderdogWNBA) June 25, 2026

Now, in accordance with the W’s Thursday ruling, that first play involving Thomas has been updated to a flagrant 2, which means the Phoenix forward will miss the Mercury’s June 27 game vs. the Tempo as a result.

The Fever and the Mercury faced off on Monday, as well, and that game was equally as chippy, having ended with six technical fouls (both Clark and Thomas were among those who received them).

In Clark’s case, she earned the tech for clapping at/toward Phoenix players following a testy moment with former teammate and Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner. Although the call was appealed, the league said Thursday that it will not rescind the punishment, putting Clark at five techs on the season and therefore three away from a one-game suspension.

Caitlin Clark says that she has received technical fouls for clapping towards opponents. | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

“We should all just go on the calendar now and pick a game that I’m gonna be suspended for if I’m gonna get technicals for clapping,” Clark said after the game.

“[Referee Gerda Gatlin] said that I got a technical for clapping,” Clark continued. “So, if any technical should be taken away, it should be that one, if it’s truly for clapping. That’s what they said they gave it to me for. It’s just ridiculous. I don’t understand it at all.

“I went to Gerda, and I said, ‘Why’d you give me a technical foul?’ She said because I was ‘clapping and instigating.' I said, ‘O.K., then you just don’t like competitive basketball.’ And that’s just facts. That’s just reality. So, disappointing from them.”

Thomas, a 13-year veteran, has never served a suspension. For what it's worth, a W player can also receive an automatic one-game suspension for accumulating four total flagrant points.

The Mercury, seventh in the Western Conference, will not play again until June 27, which Thomas, the team's second-leading scorer, will miss. The third-in-the-East Fever, meanwhile, will play that same night, when they host the Sparks at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

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