Sports

Former WNBA Pro Takes Issue With Alyssa Thomas Suspension After Caitlin Clark Controversy

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Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Chiney Ogwumike weighs in in Alyssa Thomas's WNBA suspension.


The WNBA handed down a suspension to Phoenix Mercury star Alyssa Thomas following an incident involving Caitlin Clark. She spent her most recent game on the sidelines.

Former pro Chiney Ogwumike was not a fan of that punishment. She believes the league caved to online backlash.

Last Wednesday, Phoenix faced the Fever in Indiana. During the second quarter of action, Clark fell down while dribbling towards the basket.

During a scrum, defender Alyssa Thomas’s fist slid into Clark’s neck. Some believe it was intentional. Others viewed it as incidental. Regardless, a foul was warranted.

No whistle was blown. It triggered a massive reaction.

Fever coach Stephanie White called the no-call “absolutely egregious and utterly disrespectful.” Teammate Sophie Cunningham blasted the WNBA for not protecting Clark during a recent podcast segment.

Fans on social media demanded punishment. They got their wish over the weekend.

Alyssa Thomas was given a one-game suspension.

She was not on the court when the Mercury faced Toronto Saturday night. The league retroactively assessed a Flagrant Foul 2 Penalty, citing “reckless” contact to the throat as reasoning.

According to WNBA rule, the league office can upgrade fouls or assess a Flagrant to no-calls after a review of the tape. It exercised that ability with Thomas.

Her history may have had something to do with it. She is known as being a blue-collar player. Her physicality led to the injury of Napheesa Collier in last year’s playoffs.

Chiney Ogwumike believes there was another factor at play. She suggests the league made the decision to appease an angry mob.

Chiney Ogwumike took issue with punishment.

Ogwumike did not speak on whether or not the contact was intentional or incidental. She did not comment on whether a foul should’ve been called, though she did place blame on officiating.

She noted that both players moved on after the play with little issue.

“Alyssa plays on the edge… Caitlin embellishes at time,” Ogwumike said. “This created a situation where the league is forced to be reactive… It’s doing something that it rarely does on a non-call.

“That largely happened because of the optics. In game flow, I didn’t really notice much. People hit the ground all the time. When narratives are created based off of a freeze frame, that can create a huge problem.

“The league was reacting to the optics of that image. Both players, who are known to make their issues known, got up and kept going. That’s why I have a problem.”

In some ways, she has a point. Freeze frames and slow motion don’t always tell the full story. Narratives can be spun by a photo without context.

In this situation, though, the picture does showed exactly what happened. A foul was warranted, and the league assessed it.

Alyssa Thomas created the poor optics by putting her hand on Clark’s throat. She was given a suspension as a result, which is fully within the WNBA’s authority.