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By Megan Armstrong
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Phoenix Mercury All-Star forward Alyssa Thomas has found herself at the center of vile discourse this week after the Mercury defeated the Indiana Fever on Wednesday, June 24.
In the second quarter, Fever All-Star guard stumbled to the floor in the lane. Thomas fell down on top of Clark, as seen here. Thomas presumably crashed for the loose ball, but a certain angle showed Thomas' fist contact Clark's throat, igniting backlash.
No foul was called on the play, and Clark exited the game with that the Fever simply designated as "back" in third quarter and did not return. (Clark has been managing an unspecified back injury all season.) The following day, the WNBA retroactively assessed Thomas a Flagrant 2 foul and a one-game suspension for "recklessly making contact with her fist to the throat area" of Clark.
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Thomas will serve her one-game suspension when the Mercury visit the Toronto Tempo on Saturday, June 27. Fever head coach Stephanie White declared Clark out for the team's game against the Los Angeles Sparks, also on Saturday.
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By Friday, members of the Mercury organization had seen enough vitriol directed toward Thomas and felt the need to defend her publicly, as seen below:
One of the Instagram Story posts came from Mercury All-Star DeWanna Bonner, Thomas' partner, who wrote, "Forever got your front and your back!! We love you!! [heart hands emoji, praying hands emoji, sad emoji, red heart emoji]."
Mercury associate head coach Kristi Toliver, a former All-Star guard and two-time WNBA champion, posted a photo of her and Thomas alongside Michelle Obama's "when they go low, we go high" quote to her Instagram Story.
Mercury assistant coach Tangela Smith also wrote on her Instagram Story, "We know the person you are, the heart you have, and everything you bring to this team every single day. No matter the circumstances, know this: you are not standing alone, we believe in you, and we'll be right here beside you every step of the way. Some things are bigger than basketball."
Clark has not been made available to the media since exiting the game with a back injury and therefore has not publicly commented on the play nor its aftermath. White did not hold back in her postgame presser, however.
"You're coming in here aware of what happened two nights ago, and that [expletive] still happens? Absolutely unacceptable," White said, later adding, "We have a generational talent and a WNBA superstar who had two cheap shots right there that weren't called. And I just say again: Absolutely unacceptable!"
White was referencing the Fever's win over the Mercury on Monday, June 22, featuring a chaotic scuffle that resulted in five technical fouls and an ejection between the two teams. Clark was assessed a technical for clapping, which she called "ridiculous" after the game. As of this writing, the WNBA is still reviewing an appeal to rescind the technical.
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