Who is Alyssa Thomas? WNBA star suspended for punching Caitlin Clark in the throat

Phoenix Mercury All-Star Alyssa Thomas is the latest villain to Caitlin Clark fans aft punching Clark successful the pharynx during a crippled connected Wednesday night.

The referees missed the punch successful existent time, but fans and the league bureau did not.

A viral clip of the punch successful dilatory question dispersed crossed societal media, pouring gasoline connected the ongoing civilization warfare surrounding Clark’s carnal attraction by opposing players, which has been a arguable contented dating backmost to Clark's rookie play successful 2024.

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And Less than 24 hours aft the incident, the WNBA slapped Thomas with a one-game suspension for what was deemed a "reckless" and "non-basketball act."

Who is the pistillate down the punch?

If Thomas wasn't successful the WNBA, she says she would spell pro successful combat sports

In a 2019 interrogation with Nike PLAYlist, Thomas answered what athletics she would person gone pro successful if she didn't spell pro successful basketball.

"Either boxing oregon MMA," Thomas said.

If Thomas ne'er went pro successful immoderate sport, she said she would person gotten into dentistry.

"Since I was a kid, I loved going to the dentist. I conscionable was fascinated with teeth and inactive am. I’m passionate astir that full process of cleaning," according to a illustration connected WNBA.com.

The archetypal clip Thomas stepped connected a hoops court, she threw a 'hissy fit'

Thomas was signed up to effort hoops for the archetypal clip astatine the property of 5 by her mother, Tina, per the WNBA.

Thomas said she "Threw myself each down the stairs, down the hallway," portion her ma said "She conscionable threw an implicit hissy fit."

WNBA SUSPENDS ALYSSA THOMAS FOR 'RECKLESSLY' HITTING CAITLIN CLARK IN THROAT DURING SCRAMBLE

Her parents didn't fto her triumph a fashionable committee game

Thomas' parents ne'er took it casual connected her erstwhile they played "Candyland" arsenic she was increasing up.

"We weren’t the parents that were conscionable going to fto you win," Tina said, per the WNBA.

"In life, you person to fight, and however are you going to combat if you don’t thatch your kids to fight? So if she fell over, ‘get up, you’re alright,’ and if she didn’t get up, you knew thing was wrong."

It was a parenting maneuver besides utilized by the begetter of New York Yankees fable Derek Jeter, who famously ne'er fto Jeter triumph successful committee games oregon paper games erstwhile helium was increasing up, to instill harsh competitiveness astatine an aboriginal age.

Thomas added that her ma was particularly hard connected her and helped make her toughness.

"By nary means was it easy, and it’s inactive not easy," Thomas said.

Thomas plays much physically due to the fact that enarthrosis issues hinder her shooting ability

Phoenix Mercury guardant Alyssa Thomas scrambles to get up implicit Indiana Fever defender Caitlin Clark during a crippled astatine Gainbridge Fieldhouse successful Indianapolis connected June 24, 2026. The Phoenix Mercury defeated the Indiana Fever 111-109. (USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)

Thomas presently plays hoops with torn labrums successful some of her shoulders.

The injuries are truthful terrible that she wholly lacks the structural integrity to assistance her arms and sprout a traditional, fluid leap shot. Instead, she is forced to usage a rigid, one-handed pushing question from her thorax conscionable to get the shot to the rim.

Because she cannot trust connected extracurricular shooting, Thomas adapted by leaning wholly into her carnal frame. She drives straight into the teeth of opposing defenses, absorbing dense interaction successful the overgarment to people person to the basket.

Indiana Fever defender Caitlin Clark shown aft falling successful the lane portion Phoenix Mercury guardant Alyssa Thomas watches the shot astatine Gainbridge Fieldhouse Indianapolis, Indiana connected June 24, 2026. (Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

That brutal, driving benignant requires her to initiate aggravated carnal collisions connected astir each azygous possession.

Despite the mechanical limitations and changeless pain, the tactical displacement worked. She transformed herself into a six-time All-Star, three-time First-Team All-WNBA, an Olympic golden medalist and the undisputed triple-double queen of the WNBA.

Thomas has been the halfway of immense disapproval this week

The pharynx punch connected Clark ignited a fierce question of backlash.

Indiana Fever Head Coach Stephanie White led the charge, wholly unloading connected Thomas and the league's officials during her postgame property conference.

"We person a generational endowment and a WNBA superstar who had 2 inexpensive shots close determination that weren't called," White said, pointing straight astatine Thomas's actions. "Absolutely unacceptable."

White argued that Thomas regularly crosses the enactment from playing carnal defence into inflicting dangerous, non-basketball contact.

"It’s perfectly egregious and utterly disrespectful," White continued to fume to reporters. "The fist successful the pharynx is crazy. It's crazy. It's dangerous."

On Thursday, Fever President Kelly Krauskopf released a connection praising the determination to suspend Thomas.

"Player information should beryllium paramount successful our league. We admit the WNBA's reappraisal of past night's incidental and the enactment taken. Right present our absorption is connected Caitlin and our full squad arsenic we hole for Saturday," Krauskopf wrote.

Former Minnesota Vikings skipper and salient blimpish activistic Jack Brewer said the punch would beryllium considered a "hate crime" if the roles were reversed.

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"This would beryllium considered a hatred transgression if it were the different mode around," Brewer told Fox News Digital.

Other critics person expressed their ain outrage connected societal media.