Shannon Sharpe on Alyssa Thomas suspension: ‘Caitlin Clark’s throat is still hurting’
· Yahoo Sports
If Caitlin Clark’s throat is still hurting, then Shannon Sharpe believes the WNBA had all the reason it needed to suspend Alyssa Thomas, regardless of intent.
Clark took a shot to the throat from Thomas and later exited the game with a back injury after a reckless closeout in what was the second chippy bout between the Indiana Fever and Phoenix Mercury in the span of a week. Predictably, Clark getting hit in the throat by Thomas saw the WNBA dragged back into the culture wars debate, with highlights from the incident airing on Fox News, Newsmax, and CNN as much as they were on ESPN.
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Despite the common perception that Clark is being mistreated by the WNBA, Thomas has since been suspended for the hit, and Shannon Sharpe has defended the decision.
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“Intent only matters to the individual committing the act,” Sharpe said Thursday on Nightcap. “Caitlin Clark’s throat is still hurting, whether she intended to do it or not.”
After reviewing the controversial play, Sharpe also questioned why Thomas would brace a fall with her wrist instead of an open hand, implying she was attempting to send Clark a message.
“We’ve seen acts that are not basketball-related. That is not a basketball-related act,” Sharpe continued. “She deserved to be suspended. This is not any other thing other than that she deserved it. They went back and looked at it and saw that is not how people fall.”
The WNBA missed it in real time, but credit them for reviewing the incident and determining it was suspension-worthy, thereby tempering many of their critics who were claiming the league must hate its most popular player. But Sharpe doesn’t expect the suspension to necessarily send a message to the rest of the league. Because it’s not just Clark’s talent and popularity that is being met with physicality from the opposition, according to Sharpe, it’s her body language and showmanship.
“You all in people’s face and chirping, you got to deal with it now,” Sharpe said of Clark being on the receiving end of some cheap shots. “When you putting up these threes and doing all this stuff, they’ll get you back.”
If it gets too much for Clark, she can always heed Boomer Esiason’s advice by spurning the WNBA and taking her talents overseas.
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