Alyssa Thomas has been at the center of massive backlash from fans after seemingly driving her fist into Caitlin Clark’s throat during a heated incident in the Fever’s matchup vs the Mercury on June 24.
The Phoenix veteran has since served a one-game suspension issued by the WNBA. Now, almost a week after the scuffle, Thomas is finally speaking out on her side of the story.
In an interview with Mercury media on Tuesday, Thomas touched on the narrative that has been painted against her by fans while condemning the death threats and racist insults she has received.
“It’s unfortunate that it’s come to this over basketball. A lot of us – myself included – didn’t even know the play took place until after the game. Now we’re being painted as thugs. There’s death threats out on us. It’s really unacceptable. It’s something that needs to change in this league and I’m just really sick and tired of it.”
WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert also released a statement echoing Thomas’ thoughts on stopping the spread of racial abuse and death threats against any athlete in the WNBA.
“The WNBA vehemently condemns any and all forms of hate. The safety and well-being of everyone in our community is always the league’s top priority. We are aware of Alyssa Thomas’ comments, and what she and her teammates have experienced is completely unacceptable and not representative of the WNBA community.”
While Engelbert’s statement was in support not just of Thomas but of the WNBA in general, fans took offense at the timing and at the fact that it took Thomas calling Engelbert for the commissioner to respond.
While some fans claimed the league is trying to protect Thomas, it did not issue any statements showing support for the Indiana star.
One fan said:
While another fan commented:
While one user stated:
One user said:
One fan commented:
Engelbert has expressed the league’s intentions to coordinate with the Phoenix Mercury to put an end to the online harassment that Thomas has faced and protect WNBA players from such instances happening in the future.
Mercury Look Forward To Seattle Matchup After Back-To-Back Wins
While the season has not turned out the way they would have expected, the Mercury are currently on a two-game winning streak after victories against the Indiana Fever and the Toronto Tempo.
Their next test comes at home as they welcome Flau’jae Johnson and the Seattle Storm to the PHX Arena.
Despite their 7-13 conference record, star guard Kahleah Copper has been the talking point of the season as the 31-year-old leads the roster in scoring, averaging 20.1 points per contest on 39.5% shooting.
Copper has had help from undrafted rookie Jovana Nogic, who is currently the team’s third-best scorer, averaging 10.4 points per game. However, Nogic is set to miss the rest of the season because of personal reasons.
Read More:
College Sports Network has you covered with the latest news, analysis, insights, and trending stories in the NBA, WNBA college football, men’s college basketball, women’s college basketball, and college baseball!
