The WNBA is denying a report that Adam Silver influenced the suspension of Alyssa Thomas following an on-court incident with Caitlin Clark.
In a statement to Front Office Sports, a WNBA spokesperson said the report that NBA commissioner Adam Silver pushed WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert to suspend Alyssa Thomas is “absolutely false.”
On Wednesday morning, Sports Business Journal reported that Silver “persuaded” Engelbert to suspend Thomas for an incident on June 24 in which the Mercury star struck Clark’s throat. Thomas was not thrown out of the game.
A day later, the league handed Thomas a Flagrant 2—which comes with a $1,000 fine—and one-game suspension for what it deemed to be a “non-basketball act.”
The level of influence the NBA has on the WNBA’s decision making is a longstanding question. The NBA holds a 42% equity stake in the WNBA, while multiple NBA owners have separate ownership stakes in the WNBA. The NBA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
