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Mercury’s Thomas says received online abuse following WNBA suspension

Al Jazeera · Jul 1, 2026, 3:09 AM · Also reported by 1 other source

Key takeaways

  • Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas was suspended for a game after making contact with her fist on Caitlin Clark’s throat.
  • Thomas also criticised WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert for not doing more to protect the league’s players when she spoke with reporters on Tuesday at the team’s practice facility.
  • “It’s unfortunate that it’s come to this over basketball,” Thomas said.

Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.

Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas was suspended for a game after making contact with her fist on Caitlin Clark’s throat.

xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas [File: Scot Tucker/AP]By The Associated Press Published On 1 Jul 20261 Jul 2026Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas says she has received death threats and been called racial slurs in the aftermath of her one-game suspension after she made contact with her fist to Caitlin Clark’s throat in last week’s WNBA match against Indiana.

Thomas also criticised WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert for not doing more to protect the league’s players when she spoke with reporters on Tuesday at the team’s practice facility.

Article preview — originally published by Al Jazeera. Full story at the source.
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