The WNBA handed a one-game suspension and a $1,000 fine to Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas for hitting Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark during their game on Wednesday.
After severe backlash, the league reviewed the game and announced the penalty on Thursday. On Sunday, former two-time All-Star Chiney Ogwumike said on ESPN’s WNBA Countdown that “the league was reacting to the optics of that image.”
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Ogwumike’s comments promptly earned strong reactions from observers.
WNBA Community Sounds Off on Chiney Ogwumike’s Caitlin Clark-Alyssa Thomas Stance
Midway through the second quarter of the Mercury-Fever game, Clark struggled to hold on to the ball after falling to the floor. Mercury teammates Thomas and Lexi Held converged on Clark to battle for the loose ball. Before getting up, AT snuck a punch that landed on the Fever point guard’s throat.
The WNBA reviewed the game and announced that Thomas’ play was a “non-basketball act” and upgraded it from a no-call to a Flagrant Foul 2 infraction.
Ogwumike’s comments about the suspension coming from the “optics” sparked strong reactions from the WNBA community.
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An X user, who posted a clip of the play, did not hold back.
“No freeze frame, whole video…stop gaslighting people and do your job as you should (clown),” Mica wrote.
“The full video is worse than the freeze frame, btw,” CBS Sports’ David Eickholt tweeted.
“Implying CC was ‘embellishing’ or that AT’s suspension was based only on freeze frames or ‘optics for the league’ is INSANE work. It’s hard not to notice how the vets in media seem more concerned with protecting each other’s image than acknowledging what’s right in front of them,” another X user wrote.
A Clark supporter joined the fray without holding back.
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“So we are going to put this on Caitlin’s ‘embellishing’ and not actually say that AT did anything wrong. Don’t hide your biases.”
“What a delusional take…This suspension was not based on social media posts/outrage. ALYSSA THOMAS PUNCHED CAITLIN CLARK IN THE THROAT FOR GOODNESS SAKES. Defending that thuggery is insane,” YouTuber Jon Root added.
According to Ogwumike, Thomas “plays on the edge,” while Clark “embellishes at times in certain instances.”
The 2014 WNBA Rookie of the Year suggested that the Fever superstar sold the call, while the “freeze-frame” completed the “optics,” resulting in Thomas’ suspension.
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The league’s press release noted that the suspension was due to Thomas “recklessly making contact with her fist to the throat area of Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark.”
There were optics because there was contact.
This wasn’t the first time Ogwumike received some flak for her comments. In May 2025, she strongly reacted to allegations that racist remarks and chants were directed at then-Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese.
The WNBA, after a thorough investigation, said via a press release that “we have not substantiated it.”
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Ogwumike apologized, saying that her “message was in the heat of the moment” and vowed “to grow” with the league.
