Prior to the Phoenix Mercury’s matchup with the Toronto Tempo on Saturday, head coach Nate Tibbetts complained about forward Alyssa Thomas being suspended for the game after being issued a flagrant foul for “recklessly making contact” with Caitlin Clark.
“People in this league know who AT is. She’s a competitor. She’s a winner,” Tibbetts said, via SportsNet’s Zulfi Sheikh. “The one thing, she is not is cheap.”
“This was not a thorough investigation, in my opinion,” he added. “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.”
During the second quarter of Wednesday’s 111-109 loss to the Indiana Fever, Clark went to the floor in pursuit of a loose ball. Thomas went to a knee beside her, then pushed down on Clark’s throat with her fist as she stood up.
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Thomas was not called for a foul, let alone issued a flagrant foul, at the time and continued to play in the game. Meanwhile, Clark left the game in the second half with a back injury and is not playing in Indiana’s game on Saturday versus the Los Angeles Sparks.
There was no indication as to whether or not Clark sustained the injury while going for the loose ball. But the following day, the WNBA announced the suspension for Thomas committing “a non-basketball act.”
In light of the incident and no foul being called during the game, the officiating crew has been heavily criticized — which has led to wider scrutinization of WNBA officiating in general.
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“The league has to do better,” said Hall of Famer Lisa Leslie on CBS Sports’ studio show before the Mercury-Tempo broadcast.
“Consistency is important; it needs to be cleaned up for all players,” she added. “It matters about protecting these players, no matter which team, which position. Every player deserves the same type of protection.”
On Yahoo Sports Daily, Caroline Fenton criticized the officials in Wednesday’s game for not being prepared after six technical fouls were called in Monday’s matchup between the Fever and Mercury, which also saw an altercation between former teammates Clark and DeWanna Bonner.
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“The officials should have been on high alert… how chippy it got in their first game and the history between these teams, and they weren’t,” Fenton said. “And that is a shame on the referees.”
Without Thomas, the Mercury defeated the Tempo on Saturday, 89-80. Kahleah Copper led all scorers with 27 points, followed by 20 from Valeriane Ayayi. Bonner grabbed 11 rebounds. Toronto was led by 14 points from Nyara Sabally with Tima Pouye adding 13.
Thomas will presumably return to the Mercury’s lineup for their next game on Thursday versus the Seattle Storm.
