Stephanie White’s history with Alyssa Thomas adds context to Caitlin Clark incident

Phoenix Mercury star Alyssa Thomas made headlines for all the wrong reasons following their 111-109 win over the Indiana Fever on Wednesday night.

Thomas drew the ire of WNBA fans and analysts alike after an incident involving Caitlin Clark. The Mercury veteran drove her fist into Clark’s throat as the Fever star fell on the floor. No foul was called during the play, but the league decided to review the incident postgame. The investigation resulted in a Flagrant 2 foul against Thomas, along with a one-game suspension for committing a “non-basketball act.”

Fever head coach Stephanie White was incensed as she discussed the incident after the loss. The veteran coach slammed the officiating, saying that it was “totally unacceptable” that they failed to call a foul on Thomas on the play.

Indiana Fever coach Stephanie White has history with Alyssa Thomas

Before joining the Fever ahead of the 2025 season, White served as the head coach of the Connecticut Sun.

It was a very successful stint for White in Connecticut. She won Coach of the Year in 2024 after leading the Sun to a 28-12 record. They defeated the Fever in the first round of the playoffs before bowing out to the Minnesota Lynx in the semifinals.

White’s star player on that squad was none other than Thomas, who finished fifth in the MVP race that year. Thomas was White’s best player in her two seasons as Connecticut’s head coach.

The Sun traded the six-time All-Star to the Mercury in 2025 in a blockbuster four-team deal. This was the same multi-team trade that saw Sophie Cunningham land with the Fever.

Speaking to the press on Friday at practice, White was asked to share her reaction to Thomas’ Flagrant 2 foul given their history. The Fever coach admitted that she did not see it coming.

“Yeah, I mean, look, I think that I was — I didn’t see it in real time,” White said. “And so when I went back to see it, yeah, I was surprised.”

#Fever HC Stephanie White previously coached #Mercury’s Alyssa Thomas with the Sun. Thomas was suspended for using her fist to push on Caitlin Clark’s neck.

Was SW surprised by the incident?

“Yeah, I was surprised. I was more surprised that it wasn’t seen by the officials …” pic.twitter.com/0Cn0uiuJG8

— James Boyd (@RomeovilleKid) June 26, 2026

White chose to deflect the subject, though. Instead of talking about her time with Thomas in Connecticut, the Fever bench boss decided to turn her attention to the referees.

“I was more surprised that it wasn’t seen by the officials in real time,” White stated. “I think the eye discipline — for lack of a better term — sometimes I feel like all the officials are watching the ball and nobody’s watching the play. You have a player that’s down on the ground, certainly some things are gonna happen.

“So I was very disappointed that they didn’t see that in real time.”

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