The discourse surrounding Caitlin Clark and Alyssa Thomas continues to rage on. On Sunday’s “WNBA Countdown,” analyst Chiney Ogwumike questioned why the league suspended Thomas following the altercation she had with Clark in last Wednesday’s Fever-Mercury game. According to Ogwumike, it was “unique” that the WNBA imposed this sanction on a non-call.
This comment ruffled the feathers of WNBA reporter Jon Root, who argued that Ogwumike was not seeing the obvious in this situation.
“What a delusional take…This suspension was not based on social media posts/outrage. ALYSSA THOMAS PUNCHED CAITLIN CLARK IN THE THROAT FOR GOODNESS SAKES. Defending that thuggery is insane.”
Root’s rebuttal is but one example of the conversation that fans and analysts have been having ever since the Mercury defeated the Fever 111-109 last week. In that game, Thomas appeared to ram her arm onto Clark’s throat while the Fever star was on the ground. No fouls were called in this situation.
Even the coaches of these two teams have gotten into it. Fever head coach Stephanie White has accused the Mercury of taking “cheap shots” at Clark, while also criticizing the game officials for swallowing their whistles at that point.
This prompted Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts to defend his team by saying that Thomas is “not cheap.” He also blasted the WNBA for not conducting a “thorough” investigation before deciding to suspend his star player.
“We’re With Alyssa Thomas”: Mercury Guard Voices Out Support for Suspended Teammate
Alyssa Thomas ended up serving her one-game suspension on Saturday, when the Mercury took on the Toronto Tempo. After the Mercury pulled off an 89-80 win, Thomas’ teammate Kahleah Copper voiced out her support for the six-time WNBA All-Star.
“We’re with AT. We just wish it would have been handled the right way. We wish somebody would have also called her and checked on her to make sure that she was okay.”
Copper added that losing Thomas for the Saturday night game helped the Mercury rally around a cause and become a more united team.
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