The WNBA has officially issued a shocking retroactive suspension after Alyssa Thomas’s horrific throat punch left superstar Caitlin Clark bloodied and badly injured.

Alyssa Thomas on Lexie Brown’s whole body. June 24th, 2026, Indiana Fever versus Phoenix Mercury, the second game in a fiery back-to-back series between two teams that genuinely cannot stand each other right now. And in the second quarter, something happened that broke the internet, turned the sports world upside down, and has every single person screaming the same thing. Alyssa Thomas needs to be suspended. Now, if you’re new here, subscribe because we cover everything they don’t want you to say out loud every week without apology. Hit that button right now. Here’s what happened. Just over 3 minutes into the second quarter, Clark drives to the basket and trips over Lexie Held’s foot. She hits the deck, ball’s gone, play’s over. And what does Alyssa Thomas do?

After the ball was away from the action, Thomas dug her fist into Clark’s neck while she was still laying on the court. Then Thomas proceeded to step over her. A fist into her throat while she was on the ground, defenseless. The referee standing right there on the baseline, watching, and did nothing. The video went viral in about 4 minutes flat. And once the basketball world saw it, I mean, really saw it, the reaction was immediate and overwhelming. What I would love Caitlin to do is get up one time and then just slap the the But the voice that cut through the noise the loudest, Reggie Miller, a Hall of Famer, a man who played through the brutal physicality of the ’90s NBA, a man who knows exactly what dirty looks like and what it doesn’t.

Reggie Miller, who has developed a real relationship with Caitlin Clark after their shared time on NBC’s Basketball Night in America earlier this season, did not mince words. He called it dangerous. He called it exactly what it was, a deliberate act against a defenseless player, and he pointed the finger squarely where it belonged, at Alyssa Thomas and at a refereeing core that has now made a pattern out of protecting everyone except the most important player in women’s basketball. Miller’s message was simple and devastating. This is not competitive basketball. This is not toughness. This is not physicality. What Alyssa Thomas did to Caitlin Clark while she was on the ground and the play was dead was a cheap shot by every definition of the word, and in any league that claims to care about its players, about its product, about its future, that cannot go unpunished.

Reggie Miller played against the Knicks in MSG with 18,000 people screaming at him. He understands pressure. He understands physical basketball. And when Reggie Miller says what you did crosses a line, it crossed a line. End of conversation. The internet didn’t wait for anyone’s permission to react. Within minutes of the clip surfacing, social media became an absolute war zone. The refereeing is just out of control in the WNBA. If they’re not careful, one of and perhaps the best of their superstars will get seriously hurt, one fan wrote on X. That fan was putting it mildly. Others were far more direct. Alyssa Thomas is the dirtiest player in the WNBA. She should be in the UFC, not the WNBA, one fan wrote. Don’t think about it, y’all.

I mean, you know, we’re dealing with imperfect people, I mean, and you know, you when you look at it, they don’t know the value that she’s bringing for all of them. She bringing the They flying private planes now. They weren’t flying flying private before she came. They on major networks now. They weren’t doing that. See, she remind me of Tiger Woods for golf. Yes. He changed the paycheck. Very disappointed in the refs for not calling that intentional attempt to maim, another added. Drove her knee into Caitlin’s groin on this play, too. The other broadcast angle showed it, yet another fan noted. And the calls for punishment were not soft or ambiguous. The WNBA has to look at this and suspend Thomas at least 10 games. Trying to injure another player is one of the more low things you can do.

She has to be suspended, one fan wrote. That should be a suspension for Thomas. Dirty player, another added. Then there was this. If the league doesn’t look at this and fine Thomas, there is no question Cece should take her talents and run. Let that one sink in. Fans are now openly telling the WNBA if you don’t protect Caitlin Clark, she should leave. That is how serious this has become. OutKick’s John Root put it bluntly. It’s insane how the WNBA allows the most important, influential, and popular player in league history to get treated like literal garbage. Caitlin Clark deserves better. This wasn’t just fans in the comment section. The analysts, the reporters, the pundits, everyone who covers this game for a living came to the same conclusion. Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy put it simply, What are we even doing here? Brutal cheap shot.

The play was flagrant whether the whistle blew or not, and it is imperative that the WNBA looks at it to ensure players are protected and the discourse around how the league’s biggest star was treated doesn’t get out of hand. And former WNBA star Stacey Dales did not hold back either. Dales posted, This is pathetic. Not even loose ball worthy. League needs to review this. Completely uncalled for. And of course they got what they wanted. Clark out for the game. Coming in here aware of what happened two nights ago? AND THAT STILL HAPPENS? WHAT? Absolutely unacceptable. No, she didn’t, dude. Absolutely unacceptable. cursed. And the reckless closeout that they actually reviewed? And the foot still comes down on top of the defender’s foot? That wasn’t upgraded? Absolutely disrespectful. Out of the game. Let that register.

Clark did not return after exiting in the third quarter with an apparent back injury. Indiana later announced she would not return. The most important player in the WNBA gone from the game because of a fist to the throat that the referee standing right there on the baseline didn’t call. Now, we have been critical of Stephanie White in the past on this channel. We’ve questioned her clock management, her rotations, her challenges or lack thereof. But tonight, tonight Stephanie White showed up at the podium with gasoline and a match. White did not mince words. I just saw it. I’m not sure if it had any impact on her health or not, but it was egregious. The fact that it was a no call. I heard about it at halftime. I brought it to the attention of the officials at halftime.

Yet, we still had 11 fouls in the fourth quarter to their two. They still shot 24 free throws in the second half. White continued, “Number one, you got to call it. It’s absolutely egregious and utterly disrespectful. And then number two, you’re aware of what happened two nights ago and that still happens? Absolutely unacceptable. ” White kept going, “The fist in the throat is crazy. It’s crazy. It’s dangerous. The landing spot when you went to review it and she still comes down on top of another foot? I don’t know. Because to me, that’s like a do-over on a test. How do you screw it up again? When you have these things continue to happen time and time again, eventually it gets frustrating.

” White’s final statement to the media, “We have a generational talent and a WNBA superstar who had two cheap shots in this game that weren’t called. I can say it again, absolutely unacceptable. Two cheap shots, not one, two. The fist to the throat and a reckless closeout that the officials reviewed and still declined to upgrade to a flagrant. They reviewed it on the monitor and still didn’t act. The stage was set for another bruising game after Monday’s tense meeting between the two teams, which featured six technical fouls and one ejection with the Fever eventually coming out with an 86-77 win. So, the league knew, the officials knew, everyone knew the temperature between these two teams going into Wednesday night and still a fist to Clark’s throat. Zero call, a knee to the groin area, zero call, a reckless closeout reviewed on the monitor.

Indiana announced Clark was not returning due to back injury. Fever coach White did not have an update on how long Clark may be sidelined, but said the team would be careful with her because it is a long season. A long season that could now be in jeopardy because the referees in the league office have failed repeatedly and embarrassingly to protect the player who is single-handedly carrying the weight of this sports mainstream growth. And let’s be direct, this is not about whether Alyssa Thomas is a good player. This is not about competitive basketball. The deliberate nature of Thomas is digging her fist into a defenseless player crossed the line from competitive fire into dangerous territory. That line was crossed the moment that fist made contact with Clark’s throat while she was already on the ground and the ball was nowhere near them.

If the WNBA does not suspend Alyssa Thomas, they are sending a message. And that message is, we will not protect our most important player. We will not enforce our own rules. We will not honor the athletes or the fans who have made this league grow beyond anyone’s imagination in the last two years. And if you want to stay on top of every development, every reaction, every league ruling, every press conference explosion, subscribe right now. We are not going anywhere and we are not going to stop talking about this until the WNBA gives Caitlin Clark the protection she deserves. We want to know what you think. Should Alyssa Thomas be suspended and if so, for how many games? And do you believe the WNBA’s officiating is putting Caitlin Clark’s career at risk? Drop it in the comments.