Alyssa Thomas reveals she’s faced death threats in wake of Caitlin Clark incident
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Alyssa Thomas reveals she’s faced death threats in wake of Caitlin Clark incident
By Christian Arnold Published June 30, 2026, 10:14 p.m. ETSee more of our coverage in your search results.
Add The New York Post on GoogleAlyssa Thomas has received death threats and been called racial slurs following a controversial incident with WNBA superstar Caitlin Clark, Thomas told reporters on Tuesday.
The Mercury forward also hit out at WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert, criticizing her lack of support in the face of growing anger toward Thomas following the Clark incident.
Thomas was suspended one game for a play during a game against the Fever last week, in which she appeared to thrust her fist into the neck of Clark while she was on the ground. The Mercury player also appeared to knee Clark in the groin during the same play.
No foul was assessed during the game, but the WNBA did find that it warranted a one-game suspension for Thomas amid the growing controversy.
Speaking at the Mercury’s practice facility, Thomas described the play as a “complete accident,” but most of her comments centered around the vitriol she’s faced since the whole thing happened.
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“It’s unfortunate that it’s come to this over basketball,” Thomas said. “A lot of us — myself included — didn’t even know the play took place until after the game. Now we’re being painted as thugs. There’s death threats out on us. It’s really unacceptable. It’s something that needs to change in this league, and I’m just really sick and tired of it.”
Thomas did not seem to take much issue with the suspension, which she served over the weekend when the Mercury played Toronto, but did say she was not made aware of the one-game ban until 10 minutes before it was announced on social media.
Her biggest gripe on Tuesday was the league’s perceived lack of concern over the discourse of the incident.
"Just the whole narrative that's being painted out there… it's unfortunate that it's come to this over basketball."
— PHNX Mercury (@PHNX_Mercury) June 30, 2026
Alyssa Thomas discusses what the last week has been like for her. pic.twitter.com/kLV7gAkIrQ
“The biggest thing is about our safety. We’re so concerned about the safety on the court, but time and time again, we’re having people threaten our lives. Leaking addresses out there. Putting crazy pictures that have nothing to do with basketball,” Thomas said.
“People are sending racial slurs and all types of stuff,” Thomas added. “There’s a difference between trolling and there’s a difference between hatred. The hatred that we’re experiencing over a play that, honestly, was a complete accident, no one even knew it happened. It’s just unfortunate. The league has to do better in this instance.”
The WNBA released a statement in the wake of Thomas’ comments, calling the “safety and well-being” of everyone involved with the league its “top priority.”
“What she and her teammates have experienced is completely unacceptable and not representative of the WNBA community,” Engelbert said in part in a statement. “The league and our security team have been in contact with the Phoenix Mercury organization and remain committed to protecting all players.”
And multiple reports have suggested that Thomas’ narrative surrounding Engelbert may not be entirely true.
ESPN’s Alexa Philippou was among the journalists to report that Thomas and Engelbert exchanged texts last week, and the WNBA commissioner told league security to reach out to the Mercury upon learning of the threats.
The situation has taken on a familiar story arc for controversies involving Clark, who often elicits fierce debate over her perceived treatment by the rest of the league.
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Lakers NBA Free Agency Roundup: Walker Kessler trade headlines a busy day in L.A. — Here's what it means for fantasy basketball
Story by
Dan TitusFantasy analystWed, July 1, 2026 at 5:12 PM UTC·3 min readThe Lakers made a lot of noise on Wednesday in NBA Free Agency and the trade market, and fantasy basketball managers need to pay attention.
The big move was a sign-and-trade for Jazz center Walker Kessler, with Los Angeles sending two unprotected first-round picks and two pick swaps to Utah to land the 24-year-old, who then signed a four-year, $130 million extension to make it official.
AdvertisementAdvertisementFrom a real-life standpoint, the money is fine ($32.5M annually), but the draft capital that came with it was a gross overpay. After bringing in Kessler, the Lakers have invested $475 million in Luka Dončić, Austin Reaves and Kessler, with no tradable picks for seven years. Sheesh! But, from a fantasy standpoint, this is a very good move. Let's talk about it.
Walker Kessler
Kessler only appeared in five games last season due to injury. But I think that's an outlier — not the norm. He's been at or near 60 games played in every other season of his NBA career, and the $130 million guarantee tells you everything you need to know about his minutes expectations. You don't pay someone that kind of money to not play over 30-plus minutes a night.
AdvertisementAdvertisementPlaying alongside Dončić significantly elevates his ceiling. The good thing about Kessler is that he's a beast defensively. He works hard, has shown improvement over the past few seasons offensively and the Lakers needed someone to fortify their frontcourt; he's the opposite of Deandre Ayton (a good thing). And Luka's playmaking will create easy looks for Kessler around the rim. His rim protection and rebounding don't require touches to be impactful. He's a legitimate top-50 fantasy target — possibly higher. I love this move for his fantasy value. But those picks man … Rob Pelinka's trippin'.
2026 Soccer Pick 'Em with FOX One: Make your predictions for the Round of 32!
Sandro Mamukelashvili, Quentin Grimes and Collin Sexton
The Lakers' roster construction isn't fully settled yet. However, Pelinka's Wednesday spending spree didn't afford them too much flexibility in bringing in anyone else beyond a veteran minimum. So, if there are no additional trades, Mamu and Grimes could join the starting unit. Mamukelashvili is the most intriguing of the bunch — he's a versatile big who can stretch the floor and did solid work in a bench role in Toronto. He was a solid streamer who, with an expanded starting role, could be worth a late-round flier. Grimes having to play third wheel with Luka and Reaves isn't ideal, and his fantasy value would probably be higher in a reserve role where he's playing with one of Luka and Reaves rather than both.
AdvertisementAdvertisementSexton is a known scoring option off the bench but profiles similarly — a streaming option at best in most formats should an injury occur.
The honest answer here is that, from a real-life standpoint, the Lakers spent a lot of money to be so light on perimeter defense and frontcourt depth — especially at PF. As it stands, Mamukelashvili is on my watchlist as the most likely sleeper of the group, but Kessler is by far the biggest winner here.
Golf WAG slams ESPN host after 'uncomfortable' coffee shop interaction
The fiancee of PGA Tour star Sahith Theegala has fired back at an ESPN anchor following an awkward encounter during tournament week.
SportsCenter anchor Gary Striewski shared that he had run into the couple at a coffee shop in Connecticut during last week's Travelers Championship, where Theegala finished tied-51 at seven-under.
Striewski said that he recognized the golfer and his fiancee, Juju Chan, who boasts a popular social media following on TikTok.
He said he happened to sit at the table next to Chan and, while Theegala was at the counter ordering drinks, he leaned over to ask her, 'Has anyone spotted you yet?'
The ESPN host claimed Chan looked back at him contemptuously and responded, 'I guess now?' He said he then turned around and stayed silent following the interaction.
He claimed that for Chan, as someone who 'posts constantly' and 'platforms' herself all of the time, it should be 'part of the territory' to be recognized in public.
Juju Chan (right) fired back at SportsCenter anchor Gary Striewski over an awkward encounter
Chan is the fiancee of PGA Tour star Sahith Theegala. Pictured at the 2024 Presidents Cup
@thekimchipapiWas this weird ass interaction my fault? Am I trippin? #travelerschampionship #connecticut
♬ original sound - Gary Striewski
He added that a few minutes later, someone in the same shop recognized him and he had a conversation with that person happily.
However, Chan hit back as she responded to Striewski's tale, claiming that he was presenting a false narrative.
In a TikTok video, she said that 'the interaction that he's explaining did not happen the way he's saying it did. He's continuing to let people believe a false narrative.'
Chan, who said that she had no idea who Striewski was at the time, added that she did not feel it was normal to open a conversation with a question about being spotted.
'I was uncomfortable with the comment, but I was also trying to laugh it off,' she said.
She added that she felt it was 'extremely unprofessional' for Striewski to be seemingly encouraging criticism of her online.
'If he perceived our interaction that way, I'm sorry. But that's not how it went down,' she said. 'I think it's extremely unprofessional given the line of work he's in. To encourage people to hate on me, that's uncool.'
Theegala showed support for his fiancee, commenting on her post: 'That guy should have never put you in a position like this… I love you so much, and I'm incredibly proud of how you've handled it, my queen.
@jujurchannow let’s get back to my regularly scheduled programming :) #pgatour #golf #golftiktok #golflife #wag
♬ original sound - Juju
Theegala finished tied-51 at seven-under at last week's Travelers Championship
The golf star showed support for his fiancee, replying to her post on social media
'I see how kind and caring you are to all that interact with you, and the people close to us know your real, incredible self.'
Striewski shares a second post about the interaction, defending his decision to approach Chan instead of Theegala, who was the professional athlete.
He claimed that he spoke to Chan as he felt the spouses of athletes were often 'overlooked'.
However, he did not apologize for the interaction and many social media users claimed he was making the situation 'more weird.'
