Mercury HC defends Alyssa Thomas for Caitlin Clark incident

Phoenix Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts stays within the nook of ahead Alyssa Thomas. 

The WNBA suspended Thomas for one sport after shoving her fist into the throat of Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark within the second quarter of a 111-109 Phoenix win on Wednesday night time. That play, together with many others, fueled the narrative that the six-time All-Star is a grimy participant. Tibbetts insists that is false. 

Nate Tibbetts defends Alyssa Thomas 

“The folks on this league know who [Alyssa Thomas] is,” the coach mentioned earlier than Phoenix’s street sport towards the Toronto Tempo on Saturday. “She’s a competitor. She’s a winner. …The one factor, she isn’t low cost.” 

Tibbetts then criticized the league for punishing Thomas so immediately. Throughout the sport, the officiating crew known as no foul and did not evaluate the play. That did not cease the league from rapidly disciplining her. The coach felt the method ought to’ve been rather more thorough.