On today’s episode of The IX Sports Podcast Basketball Edition, host Jackie Powell walks listeners through the controversy surrounding the suspension of the Phoenix Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas.
After a game between the Mercury and the Indiana Fever, Thomas received a Flagrant Foul 2 Penalty and a One-Game Suspension for for “recklessly making contact with her fist to the throat area” of Caitlin Clark.
“There are these voices online that call for these ideas that the entire league has it out against Caitlin Clark, and there are all these narratives that are pushed about how the league needs to protect her,” Powell said, noting that some viewers consider Clark their “golden goose.” “And so I want to get into the nuance. Do I believe that Caitlin Clark should be protected? Yes, but just like all the other players in the league need to be protected by better officiating.”
Powell pointed to a story by Seerat Sohi at The Ringer. That piece, Powell said, did a good job illustrating the contrast of the safe environment of WNBA games inside the arena when contrasted with the unpleasant discourse happening online and outside.
Powell noted that she didn’t agree with every single thing in the piece, but said it pointed out some important things. She also called out a piece by Maitreyi Anantharaman at Defector.
Then Powell played a clip from Layshia Clarendon — which was recorded before the incident involving Thomas and Clark Wednesday — in which they explain there is tension between current players about how officiating should be handled. Some players want a more physical game, and others do not, Clarendon said.
“It’s upsetting to see fans go after Alyssa Thomas in the way that they did, even though I believe her punishment was warranted. Both of these ideas can be true. Also, I think people need to acknowledge that it’s okay for Caitlin Clark to be an instigator. There isn’t a good versus evil in any of this, although our society makes it so easy to just go there,” Powell said.
WNBA Injuries
Then Powell is joined Lucas Seehafer, who reports on injuries for The IX Sports and maintains the WNBA Injury Tracker, to discuss why injuries are up in the WNBA this season. They talk about how the expanded 50-game season next year could impact the injury count.
“So anytime there’s going to be an increase in games, there’s going to be an increase in opportunities for injuries to occur, so based on kind of how injuries have been trending over the last, you know, handful of years, I would expect injuries to be up again next year, if only because there’s more games that are going to be played, and there’s more athletes,” Seehafer said.
Tune in to the podcast to learn how the new Collective Bargaining Agreement addresses these concerns.
Make sure to subscribe to The IX Sports Podcast for in-depth coverage of women’s soccer, hockey and basketball; and tune in each weekday morning for a quick overview of the biggest headlines on Women’s Sports Daily, like WNBA news and PWHL expansion updates.
What you missed on Women’s Sports Daily: What happens when a WNBA reporter and player break down film together?
