Two weeks after the online backlash to her flagrant foul on Caitlin Clark on June 24 turned into threats, Alyssa Thomas is back in the spotlight for a similar incident. Thomas faced the Fever in their series-decider on July 9, and this time her elbow collided with Lexie Hull’s face, giving her a nosebleed. However, this time, broadcaster Kayce Smith agreed with the officials’ decision.
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“It should have been Lexie Hull who got the foul called against her,” said the Barstool Sports reporter. “However, I think we’re making too much of this. When you slow it down, it looks a lot more aggressive. I don’t think it’s anything like the Caitlin Clark situation.”
In the third quarter of their rematch, Thomas went for a layup with Lexie Hull defending her. That’s when Thomas’ elbow bumped Hull’s nose. After review, the foul was in fact called on Hull, and Thomas took two free throws.
However, according to Kayce Smith and Will Cain, the play is not part of a broader physicality problem that Thomas’ foul on Clark started. Since it was Alyssa Thomas yet again on an Indiana Fever player, the fuel reignited.
The pattern of play from Thomas stretches back years, including the May 25, 2024, WWE-style tackle on Angel Reese and elbow to Kiki Iriafen on May 24, 2025, and did not help her case. However, this was a more excusable infraction according to Smith.
“I agree, not a flagrant. This is a story about Caitlin Clark that has now made its way into the halls of Congress and become a problem in the WNBA. But this play is not part of that problem,” Cain said.
In this case, Thomas was always looking at the basket and trying to get the ball up. It was a shooting motion, and Hull happened to get in the way. With the new direction allowing freedom of movement, this play had more things going for Thomas. In Caitlin Clark’s case, the ball was far away from where the foul happened. In fact, Aliyah Boston is used to being called for fouls like these.
Last year, in a similar situation, Boston elbowed Natasha Mack in the face and was called for a common foul. So, such fouls are more common across leagues than the one that happened to Clark. However, after Congress urged WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert to protect Clark and all WNBA players in an open letter after the June 24 incident, every foul, especially one involving Thomas, is getting more scrutiny.