On Wednesday night, one controversial sequence during the Indiana Fever-Phoenix Mercury game turned into one of the biggest talking points of this season. It began as a scramble for a loose ball, but somehow ended with Alyssa Thomas making a non-basketball contact with Caitlin Clark’s throat. While many saw it as a player safety issue, former NFL player T.J. Ward believes it has everything to do with the Fever guard’s personality.

“She is privileged, she’s a brat. She’s a great player, but that’s what gets her in trouble,” he said on his latest appearance on the SpeakEasy podcast. “You don’t see these issues with Paige (Bueckers) and Sabrina (Ionescu) and some of the other players. You know why? ‘Cause they’re nice. If you can’t fight, you better be a nice person. She needs to stop being so privileged, so pompous, and needs to have more manners. Be more friendly, be more sisterly.

“(Caitlin Clark’s) coach don’t like her. You see her coach getting on her head ’cause she a brat. You see one of them little kids in the grocery store that don’t listen to their parents and sprawled out rolling around you like, ‘If that was my kid, I’d kick his a–.’ That’s where Caitlin allegedly seems to be. If it’s unanimous, around the league that everyone dislikes you, even your own teammates, at some point, you gotta look at the mirror, look at the woman in the mirror, what am I doing wrong?”

The narrative of Clark being rude to her opponents, coaches, and the referees has been making the rounds this season. However, even Candace Parker supported the fact that when a coach and a player, both with high basketball IQ, come together, sparks fly. That doesn’t mean it’s a fight. It’s the passion to win, something both the point guard and Stephanie White confirmed.

But one cannot ignore Clark’s tendency to trash-talk. Just in the previous game on Monday night, she was instigating her teammates to stand up for themselves by clapping and celebrating the chaos. During the games, if she is called for a foul, more often than not, you can expect her to animatedly talk it over with the referees. So, Ward is right, something has to give. But this doesn’t entirely fall on Clark.

In 2024, Thomas had done something similar to Angel Reese. When the then-Chicago Sky star was going for an offensive rebound, Thomas hard fouled her by pushing her back by her throat. The Sun forward was ejected with a flagrant foul called right in the game. With Clark, though, the referees never blew the whistle.

With just over 6:52 remaining in the second quarter against Phoenix, Caitlin Clark slipped while attacking the basket as multiple Mercury defenders, including Alyssa Thomas, collapsed around her. During the scramble, cameras caught Thomas drilling her fist in CC’s throat, before stepping over her.

However, officials did not call a foul on the play, and the game carried on. That instantly sparked a massive backlash, especially considering Clark received a technical foul just one game earlier for clapping.

Less than 24 hours after the game, the WNBA reviewed the play and upgraded the contact to a Flagrant Foul 2, while also suspending Thomas for one game.

But here’s the thing: regardless of a player’s personality or how opponents may feel about them, a fist to the throat is a dangerous, non-basketball play that has no place on the court.

This wasn’t the only incident involving Caitlin Clark that night that raised eyebrows for inconsistent officiating.

In the third quarter, Caitlin Clark landed awkwardly on Valériane Ayayi’s feet after the defender failed to provide her with a clear landing space on her three-point attempt. While refs did call a personal foul on Ayayi, they declined to upgrade it to a reckless closeout after review.

By 5:15 left in the third quarter, Clark left for the locker room with a back injury, and the team later updated that she will not be returning. Mercury won the game 111-109.

“We have a generational talent and a WNBA superstar who had two cheap shots right there that weren’t called,” White said. “And I just say again, absolutely unacceptable.

“We spent all offseason looking at officiating. I still say the one thing we keep asking for is consistency. She is not called the same way everybody is called.”

At this point, one thing is clear: the conversation isn’t just about one missed whistle anymore. It’s also about whether the league is doing enough to protect its players. But unfortunately for the Fever, that debate is now taking a backseat to a much bigger concern.

Caitlin Clark has been ruled out of Indiana’s upcoming matchup against the Los Angeles Sparks due to her back injury. She was wearing a back brace the entire time on the sidelines on Wednesday night, and her back has been a hurdle for some time now.

So while opinions on the Alyssa Thomas incident continue to split fans and analysts alike, Indiana can only hope the lasting impact of Wednesday night won’t be Clark’s extended absence.