Former NCAA coach turned sportscaster Dan Dakich slammed Alyssa Thomas for suggesting there were narratives around her after she pressed down on Caitlin Clark’s neck on Jun. 24. Thomas told reporters on Tuesday that she had received death threats from fans, who also portrayed her and the Phoenix Mercury players as “thugs.”
“Just the whole narrative that’s been painted out there. It’s unfortunate that it’s come to this over basketball,” Thomas said. “A lot of us, myself included, didn’t even know the play took until after the game. And now, we’re being painted as thugs. There are death threats out on us.”
On Wednesday, Dakich defined what “narrative” means to refute Thomas’ claim, reminding her that what went down during that game was seen by everyone.
“First of all, there’s no narrative; we all saw you do it,” Dakich said on Dont@Me!W/Dan Dakich. “A narrative is somewhat making something up or making something into something that isn’t. We all saw what you did.”
Dakich said Thomas should take accountability for her actions instead of blaming everyone after bringing up “unacceptable” fan behavior following the incident. He also downplayed the “death threats,” saying every prominent athlete has received them.
He alleged that Thomas was “making stuff up” so that she wouldn’t have to hold herself responsible.
Stephanie White calls out “unacceptable” threats faced by Alyssa Thomas over Caitlin Clark incident
Fever coach Stephanie White defended Alyssa Thomas on Wednesday after the former star player faced “death threats” from fans. White called it unacceptable and condemned the fans’ actions for going to those lengths to get back at Thomas for the Clark incident.
“First and foremost, it’s absolutely unacceptable,” she told reporters. “As a league, as a whole, there’s been so much more toxicity, racism, homophobia, straight out like nonsense – hate (and) nonsense.”
White acknowledged that it had come from the online community and stripped those fans of their WNBA fandom.
Several people have attributed those threats to Caitlin Clark and the Fever’s supporters, but neither the superstar nor the franchise has endorsed such behavior. When needed, Clark and the Fever have also condemned such actions.
Read more:
- Fever Coach Stephanie White Condemns Online Hate After Alyssa Thomas Receives Death Threats Following Caitlin Clark Incident
- Emmanuel Acho Reacts to “Caitlin Clark’s Fans” Giving “Death Threats” to Alyssa Thomas and Him
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