Phoenix Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts went public Saturday with his frustration over the way the WNBA handled the suspension of star player Alyssa Thomas, calling the process deeply flawed.
The league handed down a one-game suspension to Thomas on Friday, stemming from an incident during a Mercury matchup against the Indiana Fever. According to the WNBA, Thomas was found to have “recklessly making contact with her fist to the throat area” of Fever guard Caitlin Clark while Clark was down on the court. No foul was whistled during the play, though Fever coach Stephanie White publicly described it as a “cheap shot.”
The moment happened with 6:52 remaining in the second quarter of a game Phoenix ultimately won 111-109 on the road in Indiana. Video of the play spread rapidly across social media in the days that followed, with many calling for the league to take action.
Tibbetts stood firmly behind his player and made clear he was troubled by the fact that no one from the Mercury was asked to weigh in before the suspension was issued.
“I’d like to hit on my disappointment in the suspension process by our league and our leaders in the W,” Tibbetts said. “This was not a thorough investigation in my opinion. The people involved were not questioned at all.”
Thomas served her suspension Saturday as Phoenix went on to beat the Toronto Tempo 89-80 without her. Her teammates rallied around her in postgame comments, echoing the coach’s concerns.
“We’re with AT,” said guard Kahleah Copper. “We just wish it would have been handled the right way. We wish somebody also called her and checked on her and made sure that she was okay. I don’t think it played out how it should have professionally.”
