Peter Okereke
It’s not a good time to be an Alyssa Thomas fan now. The Phoenix Mercury star served her one-game suspension yesterday vs the Toronto Tempo, after sparking a massive outrage for landing her fist on the neck of Caitlin Clark.
Had it been anyone else apart from the Indiana Fever star, the reactions and conversations around this issue by fans and analysts alike might not have been as pronounced.
Indeed, this is a sentiment that former Philadelphia Eagles linebacker and now-media personality Emmanuel Acho shares. According to him, if Clark were out of the equation, the WNBA would be in a better position.
“Unless we can take off our gloves for Caitlin Clark and stop trying to act like she’s a messiah, the WNBA could and would be better off without Caitlin Clark, at least without this version of everybody coddling and caressing and catering to Caitlin Clark,” Emmanuel Acho said on Speakeasy.
Despite his controversial claim, the numbers seemingly back half his point. The brand new CBA signed by the league and WNBPA was largely made possible due to Caitlin Clark’s presence.
Clark is also the reason why the WNBA is being taken seriously nowadays. Undoubtedly, the league was in desperate need of a true star. But with a player as popular as Clark, people begin to draw attention to things that become detrimental to the bigger picture.
Robert Griffin III argued against the discussions on racism that had been brought up in the wake of the Clark-Thomas controversy. It overshadowed wins like Marina Mabrey tying the WNBA’s single-game scoring record with 53 points, Olivia Miles breaking Clark and Paige Bueckers’ record for fastest to 300 points and 100 assists, and even Angel Reese becoming the quickest player ever to 1,000 rebounds.
Clark was supposed to have a comeback season this year, after getting to play only 13 games last year due to soft tissue injuries. But to some extent, the star has been a letdown.
Per The Athletic’s Candace Buckner, 2026 has turned out to be “a sizzle reel of flagrant fouls,” broken up by injuries, and one PR headache after another for Clark.
