Parker and Delle Donne say WNBA must protect players
Fresh WNBA news from Knoxville: Two-time MVPs Candace Parker and Elena Delle Donne said Friday the league must protect players better, one day after Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas was suspended for driving her fist into Caitlin Clark's throat during a Wednesday game that officials failed to flag on the floor. Their remarks, alongside Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, landed as the latest escalation in a season-long debate over physical play and inconsistent whistles around the Indiana Fever star.
Key Takeaways
- Thomas received a Flagrant Foul 2 and a one-game suspension after the WNBA reviewed contact with Clark's throat; no foul was called live.
- Parker, Delle Donne, and Reeve spoke Friday ahead of Women's Basketball Hall of Fame inductions in Knoxville, Tennessee.
- All three agreed the league must crack down on excessive contact and improve on-court officiating.
- Fever coach Stephanie White called the uncalled plays "egregious" and criticized inconsistent standards around Clark.
- Commissioner Cathy Engelbert previously formed an officiating task force after similar concerns were raised last season.
What happened between Alyssa Thomas and Caitlin Clark?
During the second quarter of Phoenix's 111-109 road win over Indiana on June 24, Clark drove toward the basket and went to the floor in a scramble for a loose ball. With about 6:52 remaining in the period, Thomas appeared to drive her fist into Clark's neck and throat area—a play the WNBA later described as a reckless, non-basketball act.
No foul was whistled at the time. The league office reviewed the footage Thursday and retroactively assessed Thomas a Flagrant Foul 2 plus a one-game suspension. She served that ban Saturday when the Mercury visited the Toronto Tempo.
Clark eventually left the game in the third quarter with back issues. Fever coach Stephanie White said at halftime she had already flagged the sequence to officials, yet nothing changed on the floor.
What did Parker, Delle Donne and Reeve say?
Speaking one day after Thomas's suspension, Parker and Delle Donne—both two-time league MVPs preparing for Hall of Fame induction Saturday—joined four-time championship coach Cheryl Reeve in calling for stronger player protection. According to ESPN, they agreed the WNBA needs to do a better job cracking down on excessive contact.
Reeve backed White's postgame assessment that missing such plays live is "egregious" and should not be left solely to league review. The Lynx coach has been here before: she was suspended for a 2025 semifinal game after blasting officiating when Thomas collided with Napheesa Collier, who injured her ankle and missed the rest of that series with no foul called.
Minnesota also asked the league earlier this season to review a dangerous play from one of its games. Parker, now a broadcast analyst, and Delle Donne added their voices to a growing chorus of league figures demanding change.
Why is officiating under scrutiny again?
This is hardly an isolated incident. Monday's Fever-Mercury rematch had already turned chippy—six technical fouls were assessed in eight seconds—before Wednesday's controversial sequences, including a reviewed closeout on Clark that was not upgraded to a reckless foul.
Celebrity breaking news coverage has tracked how Clark's star power magnifies every whistle, but analysts argue the underlying issue is consistency. Yahoo Sports noted it has been nearly a year since White first publicly criticized "bad officiating" after another physical Fever game, and that Commissioner Cathy Engelbert formed an officiating task force after Collier's comments last season.
One task force, critics say, has not ended the pattern of postgame corrections replacing real-time accountability. With the WNBA deep into its season, Parker and Delle Donne's message is blunt: protect the players on the court, not just in the league office.
What happens next for the WNBA?
Thomas has served her one-game suspension, and the Mercury's win over Indiana stands. The broader questions—whether officials will call dangerous contact when it happens and whether the league's review process is enough—remain unresolved.
For Clark and the Fever, the immediate priority is her health after another bruising night. For the league's biggest names, gathered in Knoxville this weekend, the priority is making sure the next scramble does not need a Friday morning review to become a foul.