Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark spoke Friday for the first time since she was on the receiving end of what her coach Stephanie White called "two cheap shots" during a loss to the Phoenix Mercury on June 24. Clark, who left that game with a back injury, has not played since.
During a lengthy opening statement that lasted more than five minutes, Clark shared her thoughts on the controversial Flagrant 2 foul from Alyssa Thomas, denounced the hate that Thomas and other players have experienced and implored everyone -- from the league office, to officials, to the media -- to do better.
Here are the most notable comments from Clark, who was also named Eastern Conference Player of the Month for June on Friday.
'I do think it was a flagrant foul'
Clark opened her statement by saying that she believes the incident with Thomas was a flagrant foul. During the Mercury's win over the Fever, Thomas landed on top of Clark during a loose-ball scramble and kneed her in the thigh and put her fist on Clark's throat.
No call was made in the moment, but the league retroactively reviewed it, upgraded it to a Flagrant 2 and suspended Thomas for one game.
"I know what you guys are gonna ask, and I do think it was a flagrant foul, and our reffing just needs to be better," Clark said. "It's tough. Obviously, the refs are in a really difficult spot. It's one of the hardest jobs in the world, in my opinion, is to make calls. All you do is get yelled at the whole time by everybody. You're never winning. For us, the league's just gotta do better protecting our players in that regard."
Clark has been consistent in her view that the WNBA's officiating needs to improve, and she reiterated that on Friday.
"I don't really think that it was up for debate," Clark said. "Obviously, it wasn't called in real time. You can go back and watch the clip, I think it's pretty straightforward... I think we really need to do a better job protecting the people in this league. I've been in a few of those plays, but there's been plenty others across the league that haven't got called... Overall the league just has to do better. We have to invest in those areas, technology can get better, we can treat the referees a little bit better, pay them like they're full-time employees."
Lengthy opening statement from Caitlin Clark: pic.twitter.com/fLlwYmvFLy
— Tony East (@TonyREast) July 3, 2026
'The harassment, the hate, none of that is OK'
In the days following Thomas' foul, the Mercury star and her teammates, including her partner, DeWanna Bonner, have received death threats and had their addresses leaked.
"Crazy, you know, the play in the game, being suspended, just the whole narrative that's being painted out there, it's unfortunate that it's come to this over basketball," Thomas said on June 30. "A lot of us, myself included, didn't even know the play took place until after the game, and now we're being painted as thugs, and there's death threats out on us. So it's really unacceptable. It is something that needs to change in this league, and I'm just really sick and tired of it."
"I think the biggest thing is it's just about our safety. We're so concerned about the safety on the floor, but time and time again we're having people threatening our lives, leaking addresses out there, putting crazy pictures that have nothing to do with basketball," Thomas continued. "You know, our families are being threatened, kids are being threatened, people are sending racial slurs and all types of stuff. There's a difference between trolling, and there's a difference between hatred and the hatred that we're experiencing over a play that honestly was a complete accident, nobody even knew it happened. It's just unfortunate, but the league has to do better in this instance."
Clark once again made it clear that none of what Thomas and others have dealt with is acceptable.
"As I've stood up here and said before, the harassment, the hate, none of that is OK," Clark said. "That goes for the opposing teams we play, that goes for my teammates, that goes for my coaches. There should never be a question of character. I've always stood up here and said that. That's truly what I believe, that's how I was raised. None of that was OK. I don't want anybody to ever experience that.
"I think people using my name in ways that are inappropriate [is frustrating]. You don't know me, you don't know who I am. Again, talk about it, talk about if it was a flagrant or not, but everything that came after that is confusing to me. It's not acceptable."
'A disservice to our league'
Clark lamented the incessant coverage of the incident with Thomas and said it does a "disservice to our league." Clark called on everyone to "be better."
"It's really interesting to me because I turn the TV on on Sunday and that game was on Wednesday, and that's all people are still talking about," Clark said. "I feel that's just a real disservice to our league. And I get it, you talk about it, you talk about whether it's a flagrant, you talk about whatever it is. But to continue to beat down, beat down and then for the narrative to be taken other places, that's really just not acceptable. It's hard to see. It's a disservice to my team, but it's also a disservice to the other teams in this league and other players in this league."
Clark said she was watching other WNBA games over the weekend and was surprised to see the foul from Thomas still being discussed days later.
"There's so much amazing talent and there's so many amazing players that are playing at an incredibly high rate," Clark said. "I remember Sunday or Saturday, whatever day that was, I remember watching them discuss it on TV. I didn't know they were gonna discuss it, I was just watching the other games because I try to watch as much as I can and I honestly felt bad for the players that were playing the games those days. And also I felt bad for my teammates. They played on Friday, and they dominated and played really well, and nobody wanted to talk about that, they were just worried about everything else. There had been 10-plus other games that had already happened to that point.
"It's all of our jobs to help refocus the narratives a lot of the times, and we can do better at that. I think it will help our game grow a lot more."
Clark out Sunday, plans to return next week
Clark has dealt with back problems all season. She went to the locker room during the team's opener against the Dallas Wings to have her back adjusted, and later sat out of a game against the Portland Fire on May 20. While the incident with Thomas received the most attention, a landing space foul by Valeriane Ayayi was the play that jarred her back.
Clark did not play in the Fever's dominant win over the Los Angeles Sparks on June 27 and will be out Sunday for their game against the Las Vegas Aces. She does plan to be back on the court next week, however, in one of the games in the team's back-to-back with the Sparks and Mercury on July 8 and 9.
"I will be out Sunday, but I'm feeling a lot better, excited to get back into practice today," Clark said. "Feeling really, really positive about getting into one of the games in the back-to-back. Obviously difficult coming back in a back-to-back, so we'll have to be cautious with that, but I feel a lot better and like I said, excited to get back into practice. This week has been very helpful for my overall health."
Given the recent history with the Fever and Mercury, as well as the Sparks' porous defense, it would make sense for Clark to play in Los Angeles rather than Phoenix. However, the game against the Sparks comes first, so it may depend on how her back is feeling.
