After a confrontation with Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark last month, Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas was suspended for one game by WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert.
However, the Sports Business Journal (SBJ) reported on Wednesday that Engelbert only decided to punish Thomas because NBA commissioner Adam Silver persuaded him to do so.
Missed this earlier because I’m siting high up. But #Mercury star Alyssa Thomas pushing down on #Fever star Caitlin Clark’s neck is something the officials should have reviewed.
(To clarify, from my now *deleted* tweet, I’m not sure if this is related to CC’s back, but still.) pic.twitter.com/MMVZttFlSU
— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) June 25, 2026
Engelbert subsequently declared the infraction a Flagrant 2, which carried a $1,000 punishment, and suspended the player for one game.
According to SBJ, Engelbert did not want to impose a ban because Thomas was not penalized for a foul throughout the game.
According to the same sources, Silver thought “there was clear evidence of a flagrant foul, that he felt badly for Clark and told Engelbert she had to act.”
Reports that Engelbert had not originally intended to suspend Thomas, according to the WNBA, were “absolutely false.”
According to SBJ, some people think that Silver’s need to intervene and convince Engelbert to impose the penalty indicates that she is probably in her last season as the WNBA commissioner. Engelbert is currently in the final season of her current contract. Since taking office as commissioner in 2019, she has been criticism for a number of reasons, including how she handled officiating.
