At 6:52 remaining in the second quarter of the Indiana Fever’s (10-8) eventual 111-109 home loss to the Phoenix Mercury (6-13) on Wednesday night, Phoenix’s Alyssa Thomas made “egregious” and a shockingly uncalled physical contact with former Hawkeye legend Caitlin Clark, when the Mercury forward pushed her fist into Clark’s throat and then stepped over her.
In her postgame media availability, Fever head coach Stephanie White called the play a “cheap shot” and pointed to continued inconsistency in the game and the league’s officiating as a whole. Clark left the game with 5:15 to play in the third quarter because of a back issue that was aggravated when she came down on a defender’s foot after shooting a 3-pointer.
After a league-initiated review of the incident, the WNBA has upgraded Thomas’ throat punch on Clark to a Flagrant 2 penalty, which carries an automatic one-game suspension. The WNBA ruled that Thomas “recklessly” made contact with Clark and “committed a non-basketball act.”
Phoenix Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas Receives Flagrant Foul 2 Penalty and a One-Game Suspension pic.twitter.com/VnDF8M3SXQ
— WNBA Communications (@WNBAComms) June 25, 2026
As a result of the WNBA’s decision to suspend the former Maryland Terrapin, she will miss the Mercury’s game on Saturday at the Toronto Tempo.
“Per WNBA rule, the League Office has the option, following its review of any game, to reclassify a Flagrant foul or to classify as Flagrant any foul not called as such during a game and may impose a fine and/or suspension,” the WNBA said in its statement on Thursday afternoon.
For Thomas, the incident with Clark is not an isolated incident, as she has developed a reputation for aggressive and, at times, needlessly reckless play. Last year in the WNBA Playoffs semifinals against the Minnesota Lynx, Thomas ran through the legs of Lynx forward Napheesa Collier on an attempt at a steal in the closing seconds of the game. No foul was called; meanwhile, Collier left the game in pain and later revealed that she had torn three ligaments in her ankle on the play.
As for Clark, her status for Saturday’s home matchup against the Los Angeles Sparks remains undetermined, as the team has not yet disclosed the severity of her back injury. Clark has been dealing with back soreness throughout the season so far, which has had the two-time WNBA All-Star listed on the Fever’s injury report as “probable” for the past 13 games.
Whether the one-game suspension to Thomas is enough for the Fever fan base to accept as “justice” for the egregious act is obviously up for debate, but the league has at least taken a stand on the issue.
The Fever and Mercury will play each other again at the Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix, Ariz., on July 9 in the final regular-season matchup between the two.
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This article originally appeared on Hawkeyes Wire: WNBA upgrades non-call involving Caitlin Clark, suspends Alyssa Thomas
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