Caitlin Clark has broken her silence regarding the controversial flagrant foul incident involving Alyssa Thomas, calling for improved officiating and urging an end to the online abuse directed at Thomas.
"As I've stood up here and said before, like the harassment, the hate, none of that is okay," Clark told reporters in Indianapolis on Friday. "That goes for the opposing team we play, that goes for my teammates, that goes for my coaches, there should never be a question of character."
The incident occurred on June 24, when Thomas struck Clark in the throat with a closed fist while both players dove for a loose ball. Officials did not call a foul on the play. In the days following the game, Thomas reported experiencing racial abuse and threats against herself and her family.
Clark expressed that the continued media focus on the incident, nine days after it happened, is a disservice to the WNBA and its players. "It's really interesting to me because, I turned the TV on on Sunday, and that game was on Wednesday, and that's all people are still talking about," Clark said. "And I feel like that's just a real disservice to our league."
She added that the prolonged discussion has detracted from her team's performances, noting a recent dominant win that received little attention compared to the controversy. "They played on Friday and they dominated and they played really well and nobody wanted to talk about that. They were just worried about everything else."
Clark also addressed the misuse of her name in broader discussions, stating, "I think people just using my name in ways that are just inappropriate. You don't know me, you don't know who I am."
While acknowledging the difficulty of officiating, Clark reiterated her belief that the foul should have been called and that officiating standards need to be raised to better protect players. "The league's just got to do better protecting our players in that regard," she stated. "Obviously I've been involved in a few of those plays, but there's been plenty others across the league that haven't got called."
Clark emphasized the need for players and the league to uplift each other rather than engage in constant criticism. "We can't just beat on each other, beat on each other and put each other down. We just have to continue to find ways to uplift."
