Since hacking Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark’s neck in Indianapolis last week, Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas says she’s faced racial slurs and even threats against her and her family.
The controversy ignited during Phoenix’s win in Indianapolis on Wednesday, where Clark found herself on the bottom of a pileup during a scramble for a loose ball. Thomas’s balled right hand came down on Clark, who winced in pain but initially remained in the game until leaving later with a back injury.
Thomas wasn’t whistled for a foul at the time, she was later suspended amid widespread uproar over the incident. After missing Saturday’s game in Toronto, the veteran Thomas was back at practice, where she claimed she’s become the target of racial abuse over an honest mistake.
‘Our families are being threatened,’ Thomas, who is Black, told reporters Tuesday. ‘Kids are being threatened. People are sending racial slurs and all types of stuff.
‘There’s a difference between trolling and there’s a difference between hatred,’ she continued. ‘The hatred that we’re experiencing over a play that was, honestly, a complete accident, no one even knew what happened, it’s just unfortunate.’
She also directed some frustration at the WNBA and its commissioner, Cathy Engelbert.
Thomas’ balled hand is seen coming down on Clark’s throat during Wednesday’s game
Thomas has returned from her one-game suspension, and is now taking aim at the WNBA
Lexi Hull #10, Caitlin Clark #22 and Sophie Cunningham #8 of the Indiana Fever after the game against the Los Angeles Sparks at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday in Indianapolis
‘The league has to do better in this instance,’ Thomas said. ‘Honestly, I didn’t even know I was being suspended until 10 minutes before it was being put on social media. We still have yet to hear anything from Cathy. It’s no surprise. You can see what’s being said on social media. It’s unfortunate, but as usual, she remains silent. That’s unfortunate when our lives are being threatened.
‘Just the whole narrative that’s being painted out there,’ she continued. ‘It’s unfortunate that it’s come to this over basketball.
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 are] 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.’
WNBA spokespeople did not immediately respond to The Daily Mail’s request for comment on Monday evening.
Since Wednesday’s controversial foul, Clark’s Fever teammate Sophie Cunningham has accused the Mercury players of being disliked throughout the league, and even within their own organization.
‘You know what’s funny, though? I know people in [the Mercury’s] organization that [say], like, nobody likes their team this year,’ Cunningham said on her podcast. ‘They say that they’re the unfriendliest group. So, we’re not the only ones who feel that way. Internal people feel that way, too.’
Meanwhile, many fans felt Clark was on the receiving end of a cheap shot. Social media was in uproar over the incident, particularly among conservatives, who believe Clark is facing racist discrimination for being white.
‘This is our George Floyd,’ podcaster and fired Buzz Feed reporter Benny Johnson wrote on X, referring to the African-American man whose 2020 murder by Minneapolis police sparked nationwide protests.
One of Johnson’s followers responded: ‘Charge that girl with assault, attempted murder and hate crime.’
Conservative blogger David Burke shared an AI-doctored clip of the foul, which exaggerated the violence and distorted Thomas’ appearance. He also linked the incident on the fatal neck compression Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin performed by kneeling on Floyd’s throat.
‘I seem to recall 1000’s of hours of media focus about the pressure applied to George Floyd’s neck and how vulnerable the human neck is to injury,’ Burke wrote.
Others linked the foul to Thomas’ fiancée and teammate, DeWanna Bonner.
‘Alyssa Thomas and her lesbian lover DeWanna Bonner hate Clark,’ Outkick.com’s Jon Root wrote on X.
Many others followed similar attacks.
‘They hate her because she’s white and straight,’ one X user wrote of Clark.
