Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Photos
April 29, 2026; Phoenix, AZ, USA; Phoenix Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts with forward Alyssa Thomas (25) against Japan during a WNBA preseason game at the Mortgage Matchup Center
The Phoenix Mercury picked up an 89-80 victory over the Toronto Tempo on Saturday despite being without the services of the star player Alyssa Thomas.
Thomas served a one-game suspension handed down by the WNBA after her punch to the throat of the Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark.
Despite the league ruling that Thomas “recklessly made contact with his fist to the neck area of Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark,” Phoenix coach Nate Tibbetts insists his star player did nothing wrong and should not have been suspended.
Nate Tibbetts believes the WNBA punished Alyssa Thomas unfairly
“I would like to express my disappointment in the suspension process by our league and our leaders in the W. This was not a thorough investigation in my opinion,” Tibbetts said Saturday after his team’s victory.
He then noted that no one from the WNBA reached out to him, Thomas or any member of team security to better understand the situation from their perspective, though it’s hard to understand what perspective would have made Thomas putting his fist to the throat of Clark’s neck more reasonable.
“People in this league know who AT is,” Tibbetts added. “She’s a competitor, she’s a winner, and she’s tough. The only thing she’s not is cheap.”
Tibbetts is right. Thomas is one of the league’s toughest competitors and a potential future Hall of Famer. She plays a physical style that can be difficult for opponents to handle
BUT, Thomas also has one history of acting which are questionable at best and dirty at worst.
Thomas’ teammates, including star guard Kahleah Copper, also came to her defense.
“We’re with AT,” she said. “We just wish it had been handled the right way. We wish someone called her as well and checked on her and made sure she was okay. I don’t think it went the way it should have been professionally.”
I’m not sure why the league would call and check a 34-year-old, 12-year WNBA veteran over a one-game suspension. But hey, that’s Copper’s story and she’s sticking to it.
The reality is that the game and the suspension will not define Thomas’ legacy in any meaningful way. But it’s pretty crazy to see her coach and teammates just act like it never happened.
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