The Indiana Fever and Phoenix Mercury rematch on Wednesday night boiled over as a physical matchup featured a highly controversial moment, and Fever star Caitlin Clark was on the receiving end of it.
The stage was set for another gritty game after Monday’s tense meeting between the two teams, which featured 6 technical fouls and 1 ejection, with the Fever eventually coming out with an 86-77 win.
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The bad blood seemed to have spilled over on Wednesday as well, with both teams trading blows, and Clark bore the brunt of a blatant, cheap shot from the Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas.
Fever-Mercury Rematch Boils Over in Controversial Caitlin Clark-Alyssa Thomas Moment
Just 3 minutes into the second quarter, Clark and Thomas tangled on the hardwood, fighting for possession.
The play blew dead, but the physicality did not stop as Thomas dug her fist into the neck of the Fever star and stepped over her before jogging back down the court.
Referees missed the controversial contact, sparking analysts and fans to call out the officiating crew for losing control of the contest.
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Observers shared video clips of the incident, demanding accountability.
Reacting to the viral incident, former Fever beat reporter Scott Agness wrote, “…Dangerous and unnecessary. I’m sure the league will take a look…”
“What are we even doing here? Brutal cheap shot. These women would still be flying commercial without Caitlin, and this is how she is treated. Insane,” Dave Portnoy said.
“Caitlin Clark continues to get beat up with no help from WNBA refs,” Barstool Sports said.
“No foul btw 😭 — The @WNBA hates Caitlin Clark. Why are these jealous players allowed to constantly assault the league’s only household name?” one user said.
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“It’s insane how the WNBA allows the most important, influential, & popular player in league history to get treated like literal garbage. Caitlin Clark deserves better,” Outkick’s Jon Root posted.
The physical toll on Clark is not new, as opposing defenses consistently target her with heavy pressure and hard screens to disrupt the Indiana offense.
The two-time All-Star absorbs flagrant contact nightly as defenders try to shut down her offensive game.
However, the deliberate nature of Thomas’s digging her fist into a defenseless player crossed the line from competitive fire into dangerous territory.
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Sports Illustrated analyst Robin Lundberg weighed in on the incident and urged the league office to step in: “The league cannot let this stand unpunished… There has been much discussion about physical play toward Clark in particular since she came into the league, but regardless of who was on the receiving end of Thomas’ dirty play, it is worthy of suspension, and that’s without ascribing intent. Anyone with eyes could see what Thomas did to Clark was not a clean basketball play and was of the dirty variety.”
“Caitlin literally dodged a stamp…This might be flagrant 2 worthy and the refs ignore it…” another user said.
“This is pathetic — not even loose ball worthy. League needs to review this. Completely uncalled for. And of course, they got what they wanted – Clark out for the game (back),” former WNBA star Stacey Dales weighed in.
Clark refused to let the physical punishment dictate her production. She dropped 24 points and dished out 9 assists during Monday’s win over Phoenix, though Wednesday night’s loss saw her leave with 5:15 left in the third quarter with an apparent back injury.
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Indiana will regroup after this exhausting physical series and prepare to face the Los Angeles Sparks on Saturday.
Amid this, Thomas’ hit on Clark will only fuel questions regarding the Fever superstar’s treatment in the league.
