The Adam Silver bombshell behind Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas suspension over Caitlin Clark foul

The Phoenix Mercury were without Alyssa Thomas for one of their games, as she was suspended after a hard foul on Caitlin Clark when they faced the Indiana Fever. There was no foul called during the game, but afterwards, the foul was upgraded, and Thomas served a one-game suspension.

It looks like Thomas wouldn’t have gotten suspended if NBA commissioner Adam Silver hadn’t come in to persuade Cathy Engelbert to make the disciplinary action, according to Tom Friend of the Sports Business Journal.

“But sources familiar with the situation said Engelbert initially believed during the evaluation process that — because no foul was called on the court against Thomas — a follow-up suspension seemed too steep of a discipline. Meanwhile, those same sources said Silver believed there was clear evidence of a flagrant foul, that he felt badly for Clark and told Engelbert she had to act,” Friend wrote.

According to sources, Engelbert has been trying not to show favoritism to Clark while also not pushing other players to the side. That had led to other things outside of basketball, like fans sending out death threats to players, which is what happened to Thomas following the suspension.

“I think the biggest thing is, it’s just about our safety. We’re so concerned with safety on the court, but time and time again we’re having people threatening our lives. Leaking addresses out there, putting crazy pictures that have nothing to do with basketball. At some point the league has to take a stand on it,” Thomas said to reporters.

There is uncertainty on if this will be Engelbert’s last season as the WNBA commissioner, but it seems likely. Some thought that she would be forced to step down before the CBA deal, but things changed course after she got something done.

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