Alyssa Thomas: Received death threats over Caitlin Clark incident - ESPN

PHOENIX — Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas said she has received death threats and has been called racial slurs in the aftermath of her one-game suspension after she made contact with her fist to Caitlin Clark's throat in last week's matchup against Indiana.

Thomas also criticized WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert for not doing more to protect the league's players when she spoke with reporters Tuesday at the team's practice facility.

«It's unfortunate that it's come to this over basketball,» Thomas said. «A lot of us — myself included — didn't even know the play took place until after the game. Now we're being painted as thugs. There's death threats out on us. It's really unacceptable. It's something that needs to change in this league, and I'm just really sick and tired of it.»

Thomas called the play a «complete accident» but said her main concern wasn't the suspension. The six-time All-Star said she didn't know she was being suspended until 10 minutes before it was released on social media.

«It's not even about the suspension,» Thomas said. «If that's what they felt was necessary in that moment, then so be it. But I think there's a lot of other plays that you can say the same about. The biggest thing is about our safety. We're so concerned about the safety on the court, but time and time again, we're having people threaten our lives. Leaking addresses out there. Putting crazy pictures that have nothing to do with basketball.»

The play happened with 6:52 left in the second quarter in a game against Clark's Indiana Fever on Wednesday and was deemed to be a non-basketball act. The league gave Thomas a flagrant foul 2 penalty for it.

No foul was called on the play by officials in the moment. The WNBA is allowed to review a