{"id":2992,"date":"2026-06-28T16:38:34","date_gmt":"2026-06-28T16:38:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2992"},"modified":"2026-06-28T16:38:34","modified_gmt":"2026-06-28T16:38:34","slug":"mercury-defend-thomas-following-suspension-over-clark-altercation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2992","title":{"rendered":"Mercury defend Thomas following suspension over Clark altercation"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Coach Nat Tibbetts and players for the Phoenix Mercury defended teammate Alyssa Thomas after Saturday\u2019s 89-80 win over the Toronto Tempo. Thomas was suspended for the matchup after an altercation with Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

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Thomas appeared to punch Clark in the throat during Wednesday\u2019s 111-109 victory against Indiana. The backlash was immediate and swift, with organizations as far-reaching as the National Police Association defending Clark.<\/p>\n

Clark, the Iowa product who is widely credited with sparking the surging interest in the WNBA, left Wednesday\u2019s game with a back injury. Fever officials have not provided a timeline for her return.<\/p>\n

But the Mercury stood by their star after her suspension.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was not a thorough investigation in my opinion. The people involved were not questioned at all. It\u2019s extremely disappointing,\u201d Tibbetts said on Saturday. \u201cNo one from the league called [Thomas], our security team or myself about what we felt like happened in this situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The WNBA claimed that Thomas \u201crecklessly made contact\u201d with Clark\u2019s throat. Fever coach Stephanie White, who has claimed in the past that referees need to be more proactive in calls that favor Clark, said Thomas was \u201cegregious and utterly disrespectful.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Mercury players, in their first game since the fiasco with the Fever, offered a different perspective.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re with AT,\u201d guard Kahleah Copper told reporters. \u201cWe just wish it would have been handled the right way. We wish somebody also called her and checked on her and made sure that she was OK. I don\u2019t think it played out how it should have professionally.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s just a lot of narratives on the media that aren\u2019t true and aren\u2019t who she is or how she is,\u201d guard Lexi Held said, per ESPN. \u201cSo, just kind of wanted to be that teammate for her in these crazy, rough times.\u201d<\/p>\n

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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Coach Nat Tibbetts and players for the Phoenix Mercury defended teammate Alyssa Thomas after Saturday’s 89-80 win over the Toronto Tempo. Thomas was suspended for the matchup after an altercation with Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark on Wednesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2991,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[280,142],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2992","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nMercury defend Thomas following suspension over Clark altercation - Home Buyer Relocation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=2992\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mercury defend Thomas following suspension over Clark altercation - Home Buyer Relocation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Coach Nat Tibbetts and players for the Phoenix Mercury defended teammate Alyssa Thomas after Saturday's 89-80 win over the Toronto Tempo. 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