Fever HC defends Alyssa Thomas after Caitlin Clark saga

It's been more than a week since the Phoenix Mercury took down Caitlin Clark's Indiana Fever on June 24.

Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas stole the spotlight after an incident with the Fever's point guard, putting her fist on Clark's throat during a scuffle for a loose ball. The WNBA retroactively suspended Thomas with a flagrant 2 foul, and while the decision was polarizing, the aftermath was even worse.

Thomas recently called out WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert for failing to protect the players, adding that she's gotten death threats and hate speech over a basketball play. That's why even Fever head coach Stephanie White stepped up to defend Thomas.

Fever HC Stephanie White defends Alyssa Thomas after suspension

“I just want to address what’s going on with (Thomas),” White said, via Alissa Hirsh of The Chicago Sun-Times. “First and foremost, it’s absolutely unacceptable. As a league as a whole, there’s been so much more toxicity, racism, homophobia, straight-out nonsense. Hate nonsense. It is absolutely unacceptable.”

The Fever coach also accused people of using Caitlin Clark to promote hateful agendas, claiming that they couldn't be real WNBA fans.

“Most of this (is) coming from the online community. Most of this, in my heart of hearts, I believe (is) not coming from WNBA fans, Indiana Fever fans. I believe this is people who are using our league, using our players, to further divisive agendas. It’s not acceptable,” added White. “But it’s not hard to not be a jerk. If you are one of these people who are online doing this, do not call yourself a WNBA fan.”

White knows Thomas pretty well. She coached her with the Connecticut Sun for two years. While Thomas has a history of some dirty plays, she knows her character and what she stands for.

And even if Thomas' play was dirty or even if she meant to hurt Clark —which would be almost impossible to prove — there's no room in sports for that type of hate speech.