Phoenix Mercury head coach Nate Tibbetts publicly defended forward Alyssa Thomas on Saturday, rejecting allegations that his players took cheap shots at Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark during a game on Wednesday.
The league retroactively assessed a flagrant 2 foul and a mandatory one-game suspension to Thomas for a physical sequence where she grabbed for the ball and fell over Clark.
This forced the six-time All-Star to miss Saturday's 89-80 victory against the Toronto Tempo.
Tibbetts expressed strong disagreement with Indiana head coach Stephanie White, who had stated after Wednesday's contest that the Mercury took two cheap shots at Clark.
"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," said Tibbetts.
The Phoenix coach further criticized the league's disciplinary review process, noting that officials failed to contact key members of the organization before rendering the final verdict.
"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," stated Tibbetts.
White, who coached Thomas during the 2023 and 2024 seasons with the Connecticut Sun, had insisted on a retroactively applied penalty because game officials did not blow a whistle on the play.
"The fact that it was a no-call … you got to call it," said White.
The Mercury organization expressed frustration regarding the investigation procedure, with players highlighting the heavy online backlash Thomas received during the suspension process.
"We're with AT," said Kahleah Copper, Phoenix Mercury forward.
Copper accumulated 28 points on Wednesday and 27 points on Saturday to secure victories for the 7-13 Mercury, who currently sit 12th out of 15 teams in the WNBA standings.
"We just wish it would have been handled the right way. We wish somebody also called her and checked on her and made sure that she was OK.
I don't think it played out how it should have professionally," stated Copper.
Tibbetts asserted that the league bypassed standard investigation protocol by relying on social media reactions rather than interviewing the individuals involved.
"This was not a thorough investigation," said Tibbetts.
The head coach noted that the live broadcast missed the contact, but alternative angles circulating on digital media platforms heavily influenced the league's swift ruling.
"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," stated Tibbetts.
Tibbetts cautioned that targeting decisions based on a player's star power, background, or social media traction establishes a dangerous precedent for future league officiating.
"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," said Tibbetts.
Mercury guard Lexi Held also reinforced team support for Thomas, stating that the public accusations mischaracterized her teammate's true identity.
"React to situations like this with consistency. Let's not base it on generational talent, fanbase involvement, All-Star-level players or role players.
Let's not base it on 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," stated Tibbetts.
The Phoenix lineup remains unified behind Thomas as they prepare for upcoming regular-season matchups.
"Kind of like (Copper) said, we don't think it was handled the best way," said Held.
The regular-season series between the two teams remains deadlocked at one win apiece.
"There's a lot of narratives going around that are false and untrue. It's not who she is or how she is," stated Held.
The Phoenix Mercury will face the Indiana Fever on July 9 for their third and final regular-season matchup of the year.
