Nate Tibbetts questions WNBA’s suspension process around Alyssa Thomas: ‘This was not a thorough investigation’

There is very little the WNBA seems to do that appeases everyone these days, and the situation surrounding Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas’ suspension following an incident with Caitlin Clark is a perfect example.

Thomas will miss Saturday’s game as part of a one-game suspension for what the league called “recklessly making contact with her fist to the throat area” of Caitlin Clark during the Mercury’s win over the Indiana Fever on Wednesday. Thomas was not called for a foul during the game, but the WNBA assessed a Flagrant 2 and a retroactive suspension.

Fever coach Stephanie White called Thomas’ play “egregious and utterly disrespectful” and said Clark was on the receiving end of “two cheap shots” before leaving the game with a back injury.

The incident and fallout have become the latest lightning rod around the perception that the league isn’t doing enough to protect and highlight Clark, its most popular player.

On Saturday, Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts defended Thomas while accusing the WNBA of failing to conduct a thorough review before suspending her.

Phoenix Mercury’s coach, Nate Tibbetts, addressing Alyssa Thomas suspension

“I’m disappointed with the suspension process by our league and our leaders in the W. This was not a thorough investigation in my opinion. The people involved were not questioned at all”#WNBA pic.twitter.com/f7mxNQjJ3U

— Toni Canyameras (@Canyameridis71) June 27, 2026

“First off, the Mercury organization would like to let AT know that she’s 100% supported by us,” Tibbetts told reporters. “The people in this league know who AT is. She’s a competitor, she’s a winner, and she’s tough. The one thing she is not is cheap.

“I respect Steph White. I got to know her with USA Basketball. I respect her as a coach and a person, and I understand her sticking up for Caitlin in this situation. But to say that we had two cheap shots in that game, to me, is ridiculous. Steph knows AT. She got the opportunity to coach AT for two years, and she knows what AT stands for and what she’s about.

“Next, I’d like to hit on my disappointment in the suspension process by our league and our leaders in the W. This was not a thorough investigation, in my opinion. The people involved were not questioned at all. It’s extremely disappointing. No one from the league called AT, our security team or myself about what we felt like happened in this situation. There is a protocol to be followed, just coming from the NBA, there’s been many investigations that I’ve heard about that there was calls on both sides, and that was not done in this situation, and that’s disappointing.

“I agree with everyone’s stance. Let’s continue to clean up our game. I’m a part of our referee task force, the same that Stephanie White is, and Cheryl Reeve and Becky Hammon. The goal is to clean up our game, but I do think it’s important not to rely on social media screenshots. This is a slippery slope. Let’s watch the whole play, the whole game. We’ve got more people on our eyes, it’s a great league.

“I hope that we can all agree that consistency is the main thing in how we call these games. React to situations like this with consistency. Let’s not base it on generational talent, fan base involvement, All-Star level players, or role players. Let’s don’t base it off veterans or young players, or White players or Black players, or international players. If this is the standard, make this the standard, even if the roles were reversed in this situation. Make the storyline the storyline, and the suspension the same. And let’s just be consistent.”

The second “cheap shot” White noted on Wednesday was a foul shortly after the incident with Thomas that appeared to hit Clark’s back.

“We have a generational talent and a WNBA superstar who had two cheap shots right there that weren’t called. And I just say again: absolutely unacceptable,” White said. “We spent all offseason looking at officiating. All offseason. And I still say the one thing that we keep asking for is consistency. She is not called the same way everybody else is called.”