Alyssa Thomas and Caitlin Clark were involved in a heated and physical altercation in the second quarter of the last game between the Indiana Fever and Phoenix Mercury. Though officials did not see the foul at the time, the league conducted an investigation, and eventually Thomas received a one-game suspension. However, the Mercury head coach, Nate Tibbetts, was naturally not convinced. And fans berated the HC for his take.
In the replay, it showed that Thomas was completely over Clark and her neck, which looked dangerous. However, Tibbetts believed there were fault lines in the league’s investigation and that Thomas did not deserve a suspension. Raising questions over the investigation process, he said in the post-game session:
“I’m disappointed with the suspension process by our league and our leaders in the W. This was not a thorough investigation in my opinion. The people involved were not questioned at all.”
Meanwhile, some fans took digs at the HC for his take on the incident, as one wrote:
“Tibbetts I hope your fired after this unsuccessful season. You can take with you the thugs on your team…”
One user wrote:
“He lost ALL Credability!!!”
One more user could not understand the coach’s statement and wrote:
“What’s there to question? Just open your eyes and run back the tape.”
Another user even suggested using a lie detector for the coach and wrote:
“Put them on a lie detector test and then ask them questions. Let’s get to the truth.”
Thomas’ latest altercation with Clark has taken over the WNBA world and divided fans’ opinions. For now, the Mercury will be without Thomas in their next game against the Toronto Tempo.
“Just manipulating the game,” Alyssa Thomas focused on her defense
Alyssa Thomas is the central piece of the offense, and her absence could be a serious issue for the Mercury. However, after the last win over the Fever, she felt confident and emphasized keeping the defense up. She said:
“Playing our defense and just manipulating the game… I mean, we just keep going, we gotta figure out a way, we have plenty of talent, and we believe in everybody that’s on this team. So, we gotta keep fighting.”
Controversies aside, both the Fever and the Mercury need to step up in the season to better their chances. The next games will be important for both teams.
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