On Saturday, the Phoenix Mercury were forced to face the Toronto Tempo without the services of six-time All-Star forward Alyssa Thomas, much to the now public chagrin of her coach, Nate Tibbetts, and teammates, including fellow All-Star Kahleah Copper.
Thomas served the one-game suspension the WNBA imposed after her altercation on Wednesday with Indiana Fever All-Star guard Caitlin Clark. No foul was called on the play, but it subjected Thomas to massive public scrutiny and led the WNBA to retroactively issue a flagrant foul.
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Before the Mercury’s eventual 89-80 win over Toronto, behind 27 points from Copper, Tibbetts spoke publicly for the first time and took the chance to defend his star, as well as air his grievances with the WNBA’s response and Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White’s comments.
“The people in this league know who AT is. She’s a competitor, she’s a winner, and she’s tough. The one thing she is not is cheap,” Tibbetts told reporters. “To say that we had two cheap shots in that game, to me, is ridiculous. Steph knows AT. She got the opportunity to coach AT for two years, and she knows what AT stands for and what she’s about.”
After Wednesday’s game, White called the lack of a call “egregious” and referred to Thomas’ actions as a “cheap shot.”
In Wednesday’s game, Clark lost her footing with the ball and fell near the free-throw line against the Mercury. Thomas then fell on top of her while grabbing for the ball, and her fist appeared to push into Clark’s throat before Thomas stepped over her as she got up. The WNBA reviewed the play and determined Thomas acted “recklessly” and “committed a non-basketball act,” retroactively issuing a flagrant 2 foul and a suspension.
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The Mercury ended up winning 111-109, thanks to 28 points from Copper. Thomas finished with 24 points, eight assists and four rebounds. Clark finished with 19 points and eight assists.
“It was egregious. The fact that it was a no-call … you got to call it,” White said afterward.
White coached Thomas in 2023 and 2024 on the Connecticut Sun, who reached the WNBA semifinals both seasons. Thomas is the leader in WNBA career triple-doubles with 25, including the playoffs.
Thomas leads the league in assists per game, dishing out 8.4 a night, and holds a narrow lead over Clark, who logs 8.2 a game. The Phoenix forward also averages 14.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game for the 7-13 Mercury. They are now 12th out of 15 teams in the league and seventh of eight in the Western Conference, a year after making the WNBA Finals where the Las Vegas Aces swept them.
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How the WNBA arrived at its decision also annoyed Tibbetts and Thomas’ teammates. Copper was especially worried about the lack of care shown to Thomas throughout the brief ordeal, as the forward faced mass vitriol online and questions about her character.
“We’re with AT,” Copper said pregame. “We just wish it would have been handled the right way. We wish somebody also called her and checked on her and made sure that she was OK. I don’t think it played out how it should have professionally.”
Tibbetts said Thomas and others involved weren’t questioned, nor were the proper officials from the team consulted during the investigation — an unacceptable departure from protocol, in his estimation.
“This was not a thorough investigation in my opinion,” Tibbetts said. “The people involved were not questioned at all. It’s extremely disappointing. No one from the league called AT, our security team or myself about what we felt like happened in this situation. There is a protocol to be followed.”
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Tibbetts believes public backlash to the play on Clark sparked the WNBA’s swift decision against Thomas. On the live broadcast angle, it could not be seen that Thomas’ fist went into Clark’s throat on the way to the ground. However, another angle released on social media that showed it quickly made the rounds.
Tibbetts, 49, believes there could have been favoritism shown toward protecting Clark, the all-time NCAA Division I scoring leader who has been heralded as one of the current and future faces of the league.
“The goal is to clean up our game, but I do think it’s important not to rely on social media screenshots. This is a slippery slope,” Tibbetts said. “React to situations like this with consistency. Let’s not base it on generational talent, fanbase involvement, All-Star-level players or role players. Let’s not base it on veterans or young players, or White players or Black players, or international players. If this is the standard, make this the standard, even if the roles were reversed in this situation.”
Another of Thomas’ teammates, guard Lexi Held, took the opportunity to express her sympathy for Thomas, who’s faced social media reactions and the dissection of her intentions.
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“Kind of like (Copper) said, we don’t think it was handled the best way,” Held said. “There’s a lot of narratives going around that are false and untrue. It’s not who she is or how she is.”
Ultimately, Copper showed her support in the best way possible, by picking up the slack and leading Phoenix to the win without Thomas.
The Mercury will next play the Fever on July 9 in their third and final regular-season matchup. The regular-season series between them is tied 1-1.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Indiana Fever, Phoenix Mercury, WNBA
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