Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas has revealed she received death threats and racial slurs following her one-game suspension for making contact with her fist to Caitlin Clark's throat during last week's WNBA match against Indiana.

Thomas also criticized WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert for not doing enough to protect players, speaking to reporters Tuesday at the team's practice facility. "It's unfortunate that it's come to this over basketball," Thomas said. "A lot of us – myself included – didn't even know the play took place until after the game. Now we're being painted as thugs. There are death threats out on us. It's really unacceptable."

Engelbert released a statement Tuesday night: "The WNBA vehemently condemns any and all forms of hate. The safety and well-being of everyone in our community is always the league's top priority." She added that the league's security team has been in contact with the Mercury organization.

Thomas called the play a "complete accident" but said her main concern was not the suspension. The six-time All-Star said she learned of the suspension only 10 minutes before it was announced on social media. "It's not even about the suspension," Thomas said. "If that's what they felt was necessary in that moment, then so be it. But I think there are a lot of other plays that you can say the same about. The biggest thing is about our safety."

The incident occurred with 6:52 left in the second quarter against Clark's Indiana Fever and was deemed a non-basketball act. The league assessed Thomas a Flagrant Foul 2. No foul was called by officials during the game. Thomas served her suspension Saturday when the Mercury visited the Toronto Tempo.

"People are sending racial slurs and all types of stuff," Thomas said. "There's a difference between trolling, and there's a difference between hatred. The hatred that we're experiencing over a play that, honestly, was a complete accident – no one even knew it happened. It's just unfortunate. The league has to do better in this instance."

The Fever renewed their call for player safety in a statement Thursday. The two teams had played days before the Thomas-Clark incident, with six technical fouls and one ejection. Fever coach Stephanie White criticized the lack of a foul call: "It was egregious. The fact that it was a no-call… Absolutely unacceptable." The Mercury and Fever play again July 9 in Phoenix.

Source: www.aljazeera.com