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.“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.
WATCH full presser herehttps://t.co/nY9tggLRKa
— PHNX Mercury (@PHNX_Mercury) June 30, 2026Thomas said she has not heard from league commissioner Cathy Engelbert since her suspension, despite a 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.
