The June 24 Alyssa Thomas-Caitlin Clark incident, where the Phoenix Mercury forward made contact with the Indiana Fever star’s throat, has spiraled into social media backlash. While Thomas has maintained that the play was a “complete accident,” she and her teammates have continued to receive threats online. And that’s something Fever head coach Stephanie White finds “absolutely unacceptable.”

“In my heart of hearts, I believe (the hate is) not coming from WNBA fans, Indiana Fever fans. I believe this is people who are using our league to further divisive agendas,” she said while talking to reporters on July 1.

“It’s not hard – to not be a jerk,” she added. “And if you are one of these people who are online, doing this, do not call yourself a WNBA fan. Our league is about inclusiveness, our league is about competition, our league is about elevating… We are not about demeaning (or) demanding. We are not about continuing this narrative. And it’s just absolutely unacceptable.” 

The play, which occurred during the second quarter of the second consecutive game between the Mercury and Fever, was undoubtedly a foul. In fact, the league labeled it a Flagrant Foul 2 after review.

The WNBA also suspended the 34-year-old for one game, which she served against the Toronto Tempo. Yet the vitriol directed toward the veteran forward has shown no signs of slowing down.

“We play for what she means for this sport, what she means for our team, which is a lot, and unfortunately, she had to go through that situation, which, in our opinion, wasn’t fair at all,” Thomas’ teammate and Mercury forward Marta Suarez said, as per Griffin S. DeMarrais.

“We love each other, we’re excited about where we are, and we’re in a great flow. We’re getting better every day, we’re getting better every week, we’re getting more wings, so that’s what we’re focusing on. Everything else is for the people sitting on the couch.”

On Tuesday night, Cathy Engelbert condemned the backlash directed at the veteran forward. Meanwhile, the situation has even gotten mainstream attention, with ABC’s Good Morning America highlighting the threats and online comments directed at the veteran player as they demanded the league do more to protect her.

So while the Mercury are finally starting to find their footing on the court after recording 13 losses in the 2026 season, the noise surrounding their star players can be detrimental. The Mercury won’t play their next game until July 6th, and hopefully by then the conversation finally shifts back to basketball instead of everything that has overshadowed the past week.