WNBA star suspended for punching Caitlin Clark in the throat

Phoenix Mercury All Star Alyssa Thomas is the latest villain to Caitlin Clark fans after punching Clark in the throat during a game on Wednesday night. The referees missed the punch in real time, but fans and the league office did not. A viral clip of the punch in slow motion spread across social media, pouring gasoline on the ongoing culture war surrounding Clark’s physical treatment by opposing players, which has been a controversial issue dating back to Clark's rookie season in 2024.

And Less than 24 hours after the incident, the WNBA slapped Thomas with a one-game suspension for what was deemed a reckless and on basketball act. In a 2019 interview with Nike PLAYlist, Thomas answered what sport she would have gone pro in if she didn't go pro in basketball. Either boxing or MMA, Thomas said. If Thomas never went pro in any sport, she said she would have gotten into dentistry. "Since I was a kid, I loved going to the dentist. I just was fascinated with teeth and still am. I’m passionate about that whole process of cleaning, according to a profile on WNBA.com. Her parents didn't let her win a popular board game

Thomas' parents never took it easy on her when they played Candyland as she was growing up. "We weren’t the parents that were just going to let you win," Tina said, per the WNBA. "In life, you have to fight, and how are you going to fight if you don’t teach your kids to fight? So if she fell over, ‘get up, you’re alright, and if she didn’t get up, you knew something was wrong."

It was a parenting tactic also used by the father of New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter, who famously never let Jeter win in board games or card games when he was growing up, to instill harsh competitiveness at an early age. Thomas added that her mom was especially hard on her and helped develop her toughness. "By no means was it easy, and it’s still not easy," Thomas said. Thomas plays more physically because shoulder issues hinder her shooting ability Thomas currently plays basketball with torn labrums in both of her shoulders. The injuries are so severe that she completely lacks the structural integrity to lift her arms and shoot a traditional, fluid jump shot. Instead, she is forced to use a rigid, 

one-handed pushing motion from her chest just to get the ball to the rim. Because she cannot rely on outside shooting, Thomas adapted by leaning entirely into her physical frame. She drives directly into the teeth of opposing defenses, absorbing heavy contact in the paint to score closer to the basket. That brutal, driving style requires her to initiate intense physical collisions on nearly every single possession. Despite the mechanical limitations and constant pain, the tactical shift worked. She transformed herself into a six-time All-Star, three-time First-Team All-WNBA, an Olympic gold medalist and the undisputed triple-double queen of the WNBA.