Overview
- The WNBA upgraded an uncalled late-June play to a Flagrant-2 after review and suspended Phoenix veteran Alyssa Thomas for one game for contact near Caitlin Clark’s neck.
- Thomas reported receiving death threats and racist harassment after the clip went viral and the league publicly condemned the abuse and offered security outreach.
- On her Post Moves podcast Boston said the play “should have never been done,” defended the flagrant ruling, and called the level of online backlash against Thomas excessive.
- Boston also recounted telling Clark to stop clapping after Clark picked up her fifth technical, a warning that matters because a player is automatically suspended after eight technical fouls.
- The episode has sharpened questions about why officials missed the contact on the floor, how the WNBA uses postgame review to change penalties, and how teams must balance player conduct, safety, and availability.