​The Phoenix Mercury are slated to host the Indiana Fever for the third and final meeting of the season on Thursday, July 9, in Phoenix. This clash follows a tense two-game series in Indianapolis just two weeks earlier, where emotions ran high between the teams. Since that set, Mercury star Alyssa Thomas has faced death threats after her flagrant foul on Fever guard Caitlin Clark during the June 24 game. In that incident, Thomas and two other Mercury players converged on a loose ball as Clark tried to release it. After Clark passed, Thomas hovered over her with a clenched fist pressed on Clark’s shoulder, the fist sliding down toward Clark’s throat. Thomas then rose and moved toward Clark with the ball heading in the opposite direction. Thomas has characterized the play as a “complete accident,” saying the team did not realize her fist touched Clark’s throat until they saw fan-released clips after the game. Fever players, for their part, did not witness the act unfold in real time.
Thomas conveyed on June 30 that it’s regrettable the situation has escalated over a basketball play, lamenting that their group is being labeled as thugs and that death threats have been directed at them. She emphasized that such behavior is unacceptable and must change within the league, expressing her frustration with the situation. A photo from the June 24 game shows Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark celebrating a made shot against the Mercury at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. In a road trip arc, the Mercury are set to face Clark and the Fever twice.
Thomas also noted that she had not been aware of her suspension until roughly ten minutes before the league posted the decision on social media, and she has yet to receive direct communication from WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert regarding the matter. In the wake of Thomas going public about the league’s handling of the incident, reports surfaced that Engelbert had exchanged text messages and offered to participate in a call with Thomas the prior week. Engelbert also instructed league security to contact Phoenix’s security and issued a statement denouncing “any and all forms of hate.”
Head coach Nate Tibbetts publicly supported Thomas in a pregame address on June 27, criticizing Fever coach Stephanie White’s earlier remarks alleging that Thomas delivered “cheap shots” against Indiana. Tibbetts said he respected White personally and professionally, noting their shared USA Basketball history, but he found the assertion of two cheap shots in that game to be unfounded. White later denounced the online harassment directed at Thomas as absolutely unacceptable, condemning the broader environment of rising toxicity in the league, noting issues of racism, homophobia, and other nonsense that undermine the sport.