Napheesa Collier suffered a horrific injury in the WNBA semi-finals against the Phoenix Mercury over the weekend. During the last few seconds of Game 3, Alyssa Thomas stole the ball from Collier and collided with her, as Thomas was in motion. She finished an easy lay-up to put the game to bed, while Napheesa was left on the court in agony.
The collision was not called a foul despite Thomas’ momentum injuring Collier. The basketball world is divided on the legitimacy of that steal. A lot of fans are slamming Thomas and the referees, whereas others are defending the Mercury star. However, women’s basketball analyst Rachel DeMita had some stern words on the whole incident.
Speaking in a video on her YouTube channel, she unloaded on the referees for not calling it a foul.
“This was not ruled a foul. And I am dumbfounded by the amount of people online, even the amount of professionals online who are saying that this is no foul,” she said (1:13).
She explained the incident in detail, saying (1:28):
“Alyssa Thomas reaches across and when she reaches across, she gets all ball first. Was there any foul when she was tapping the ball away? No. It seems like there’s no contact there. She strips the ball clean. But as you can see, the angle in which Alyssa Thomas is running across Phee. Phee is going this way. Alyssa Thomas is going this way. Fee is in full motion. She is going full speed in one direction.”
“Alyssa Thomas cuts her off in that regard. The foul happens in my opinion after she tips the ball out. So she tips the ball out, and then as you can see Fee’s leg gets caught up. It’s almost like wrapped around Alyssa Thomas’s body. There is nowhere else that fee could have gone. The reason this was not called a foul is because they said it’s incidental contact after the play on the ball,” DeMita added.
Rachel continued to express her frustration, saying (2:58):
“If I hear one more person say, ‘Well, she didn’t do it on purpose,’ it doesn’t matter. I don’t care if Alyssa Thomas premeditated this foul six months ago, or she accidentally did it and called Napheesa Collier after the game and apologized to her and told her that it was an accident. It doesn’t matter when it comes to calling a foul. So, I’m also tired of the like, ‘Well, it’s not a dirty play.’ It doesn’t matter. Napheesa Collier had nowhere to go. I don’t know what the referees thought she could do when she is running full speed.”
“Her leg is in motion and her leg gets caught on Alyssa Thomas’ body because Alyssa Thomas is bullying her way through Napheesa Collier’s line. Alyssa Thomas is also somebody, she’s probably the strongest player in the league when it comes to just her size and the brick house that she is. She’s not easily knocked over. People run into her and fall down. And it’s the same instance here. She’s very strong. She can bulldoze her way through anyone,” she concluded.
Fans react to Napheesa Collier’s injury
There has been a lot of chatter around Napheesa Collier’s injury. Most of the fans are furious with the officiating as well as the WNBA commissioner, Cathy Engelbert. Fans shared their reactions in the comments section of Rachel DeMita’s YouTube video.
“As long as Engelbert is commissioner, this league will never be a professional league,” one fan said.
“As a physical therapist, this kind of thing is absolutely disconcerting. You are absolutely spot on with the points you’ve made here,” another agreed with Rachel DeMita.
“The league can’t afford to pay enough to get competent refs but they can afford to pay Cathy Engelbert $3 million per year,” one fan questioned.
“You can freely knock loose a ball, but you can’t go through the player’s body,” another fan made the judgment.
“Knee-to-knee hits in the NHL are illegal and penalized even if they are accidental. Thomas should have been called for a foul…PERIOD. You Rachel, are the most level-headed commentator on YouTube. Keep up the good work,” another praised the analyst.
Phoenix won Game 4 and qualified for the finals. Who will Mercury meet in the finals? Can Mercury win the title against the Aces or the Fever?
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