Alyssa Thomas, forward for the Phoenix Mercury, has claimed that she received death threats following her foul on Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark, which led to her suspension.
Thomas discussed the death threats she received when speaking to reporters outside her team’s practice facility on Tuesday and even cast blame at WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert for not doing more to protect players from harassment.
“It’s unfortunate that it’s come to this over basketball,” Thomas said. “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.”
The Phoenix Mercury squeaked out a victory over the Fever last week, but the game took a dark turn when Alyssa Thomas punched Caitlin Clark in the throat while the two were entangled. As Breitbart News reported:
Phoenix’s Alyssa Thomas kneed Clark in the groin several times while Clark was on the ground, even when Clark had already passed the ball off to her teammates, and there was no play near Clark and Thomas. To make matters worse, Thomas then jammed her fist into Clark’s neck as she got up from the floor. Then she kicked at Clark’s legs as she got up and stepped over the Fever star.
Clark later left the game with a back injury, and it remains unknown whether it resulted from Thomas. Following the game, the Phoenix Mercury shared a stick figure on X with the caption, “De-Wanna piece of this?!?” Fans immediately condemned the post, and the team later deleted it.
Thomas received a one-game suspension as a result of the foul, which she called a “complete accident.”
“It’s not even about the suspension,” Thomas said. “If that’s what they felt was necessary in that moment, then so be it. But I think there’s a lot of other plays that you can say the same about. The biggest thing is about our safety. We’re so concerned about the safety on the court, but time and time again, we’re having people threaten our lives. Leaking addresses out there. Putting crazy pictures that have nothing to do with basketball.”
Thomas added that she has been receiving racial slurs.
“People are sending racial slurs and all types of stuff,” Thomas said. “There’s a difference between trolling, and there’s a difference between hatred. The hatred that we’re experiencing over a play that, honestly, was a complete accident, no one even knew it happened. It’s just unfortunate. The league has to do better in this instance.”
“We still have yet to hear anything from Cathy [Engelbert]. It’s no surprise. You could see what’s being said on social media. Yeah, it’s unfortunate, but as usual, she remains silent. That’s unfortunate when our lives are being threatened,” she added.
Englebert released a statement of her own on Tuesday, condemning the death threats and harassment.
“The safety and well-being of everyone in our community is always the league’s top priority,” she wrote. “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. The league and our security team have been in contact with the Phoenix Mercury organization and remain committed to protecting all players.”