A hit on WNBA star Caitlin Clark has turned into a flashpoint after the league stepped in to change its initial ruling, Eyewitness News ABC7NY reported. The WNBA reviewed the play after the game and upgraded what had originally been a no-call into a flagrant two, a sign of how seriously it ultimately viewed the contact.
The play that drew the review was a physical one. According to the report, Clark was hit in the throat while she was on the ground during Wednesday night's game, an incident that initially drew no whistle from the officials on the floor.
The upgraded ruling carried a direct consequence for an opposing player. As a result of the review, the Phoenix Mercury's Alyssa Thomas was suspended for a game, turning a missed call in the moment into a formal punishment after the fact.
It was not the only contact involving Clark in that game. In the same matchup, a defender appeared to get a little too close to Clark during a shot, causing her to land on the defender's foot, another moment that fueled questions about how she is being guarded.
The result did not go Clark's way on the scoreboard. Phoenix went on to win the game 111-109, a narrow finish that left the officiating, rather than the final margin, as the main story coming out of the night.
The response afterward was pointed. Clark's coach is calling out both opposing players and the referees, while one assessment described two cheap shots that were not called as absolutely unacceptable, arguing that a generational talent and WNBA superstar needs to be better protected on the court.
At the same time, the report noted that Clark is no stranger to controversy on the court herself. She leads the WNBA in technical fouls with five, a detail raised even as commentators insisted that the league still has to do more to protect her.