Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas called out the WNBA for its failure to protect players in the fallout of her one-game suspension for committing a flagrant foul on Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark last week.
Thomas said she has been sent death threats, received threats against her family and was called racial slurs online in the days since the incident. She also said addresses have been leaked.
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“A lot of us, myself included, didn’t even know the play took place until after the game, and now we’re being painted as thugs and there’s death threats out on us, so it’s really unacceptable, it’s something that needs to change in this league, and I’m just really sick and tired of it,” Thomas said after the Mercury’s practice Tuesday.
Since her suspension, Thomas said she has not heard from league commissioner Cathy Engelbert despite the wave of social media hatred directed at Mercury players. However, a spokesperson for Engelbert said in an email to The Athletic on Tuesday that the commissioner had “exchanged texts and offered to get on a call with Alyssa Thomas last week.” The spokesperson also stated that upon hearing about the threats, Engelbert immediately directed league security to contact Phoenix’s security.
DeWanna Bonner, Thomas’s partner and fellow Mercury forward, said Thomas initiated a text to Engelbert last week, and although Engelbert mentioned meeting with Thomas, she did not reach back out to set up a meeting. Two days before the game that featured Thomas’ flagrant foul, Bonner and Clark starred in a skirmish that culminated in five players receiving technical fouls — including Clark.
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“We still have yet to hear anything from Cathy, it’s no surprise,” Thomas said. “As usual, she remains silent, and that’s unfortunate when our lives are being threatened.”
In a game against the Fever on June 24, referees did not call a foul on Thomas as she and Clark were on the floor and Thomas pushed her closed fist against Clark’s neck as she attempted to stand up. The WNBA reviewed the play after the game on an appeal by the Fever, retroactively calling it a flagrant 2 foul and announcing a one-game suspension on Thomas for “recklessly making contact with her fist to the throat area.”
Thomas said she learned of her suspension only 10 minutes before the news was on social media.
Thomas said there’s a dichotomy in the league’s attempts to prioritize player safety on the court while ignoring their concerns off the court. Despite the league introducing a “No Space For Hate” platform prior to the 2025 season, many players say they still face online harassment.
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Thomas, a 13-year veteran, said this is the worst harassment she has experienced in her WNBA career, even worse than two years ago when she played the Indiana Fever in the playoffs while on the Connecticut Sun and called out the racism she observed from Fever fans.
“The WNBA vehemently condemns any and all forms of hate,” Engelbert said in an email statement to The Athletic on Tuesday. “The safety and well-being of everyone in our community is always the league’s top priority. We are aware of Alyssa Thomas’ comments, and what she and her teammates have experienced is completely unacceptable and not representative of the WNBA community. The league and our security team have been in contact with the Phoenix Mercury organization and remain committed to protecting all players.”
Said Thomas: “It’s time for them to step up and have our backs in these instances.”
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
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