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A high-ranking WNBPA member refused to comment on whether throat-punching is punishable
The WNBA has somehow turned the league’s marquee player into a lightning rod of controversy. After Caitlin Clark was brutally fouled by Alyssa Thomas last week — Thomas came down with a fist on Clark’s throat — the WNBA and its media have turned the incident into an avalanche of discourse.
Christine Brennan, a sportswriter who’s literally written a best-selling book about Caitlin Clark (On Her Game: Caitlin Clark and the Revolution in Women’s Sports), says she reached out to WNBPA exec. director Terri Jackson to get clarity on the foul, asking: ‘Is it punishable to put your fist in another player’s throat, or is it not?
The executive director of the WNBA player’s union declined to comment when asked if “putting your fist into another player’s throat” is punishable
Jackson, one of the highest ranking members of the WNBA’s players’ union, declined to give a definitive answer on the record.
As controversy swirls over Alyssa Thomas’ one-game suspension, I reached out to WNBPA exec. director Terri Jackson, asking this:
“Is it punishable to put your fist in another player’s throat, or is it not?”
Players’ union spokesman: “The WNBPA respectfully declines comment.”
— Christine Brennan (@cbrennansports) June 29, 2026
The incident occurred during a June 24 Mercury-Fever matchup, when Thomas drove her fist into Clark’s throat area during a collision near the basket. While no foul was called on Thomas during the game, the WNBA announced that Thomas would be suspended for one game and fined $1,000 after reviewing the foul, which was upgraded to a Flagrant Foul 2.
“Upon postgame review, the Phoenix Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas has received a Flagrant Foul 2 penalty and a one-game suspension for recklessly making contact with her fist to the throat area of Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark,” the league said in its statement.
“The incident, for which Thomas was deemed to have committed a non-basketball act, occurred with 6:52 remaining in the second quarter of the Mercury’s 111-109 win over the Fever last night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. 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 foul on Clark has prompted hot takes from all corners of the sports world, from Dave Portnoy to Chiney Ogwumike to Emmanuel Acho.