The WNBA’s handling of Alyssa Thomas’ suspension is back under the spotlight after a Sports Business Journal report claimed NBA commissioner Adam Silver played a behind-the-scenes role in one of the league’s most debated disciplinary decisions this season.

According to Sports Business Journal’s Tom Friend, Silver implored WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert to reverse course and suspend Thomas following her June 24 on-court incident involving Caitlin Clark. The WNBA has since called that account “absolutely false,” setting up a dispute over how the decision was ultimately reached.

“WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert was not planning to suspend Alyssa Thomas… until NBA Commissioner Adam Silver implored her to reverse course and issue the discipline,” Friend wrote.

According to Friend’s report, Engelbert and league officials initially believed a suspension would be too severe because officials did not assess a foul during the game. Friend reported that Silver viewed the video differently, believed there was clear evidence of a flagrant violation and implored Engelbert to reverse course and issue a suspension. The report does not describe how the two commissioners communicated.

The WNBA disputed that account on Wednesday, with a league spokesperson calling the claim that Engelbert initially opposed suspending Thomas “absolutely false.” Sources close to the league told Sports Business Journal that its referee operations and basketball operations departments followed their standard review process before recommending discipline.

Silver has not publicly addressed the Sports Business Journal report. During NBA Summer League, he was asked about Engelbert’s future as commissioner and said, “Cathy and I work together and I don’t want to speak for Cathy. But I’m very pleased with where the WNBA is. We made tremendous progress under her leadership over the last several years… Cathy continues to do a strong job building that league.” He added the two sides would have “ongoing discussions about what the future looks like” but did not respond to questions about his reported role in Thomas’ suspension.

What Happened Between Clark and Thomas?

The controversy comes from the June 24 game between the Indiana Fever and Phoenix Mercury. During a loose-ball scramble with 6:52 remaining in the second quarter, Thomas’ fist made contact with Clark’s throat. Officials did not call a foul on the play, but the sequence quickly became one of the WNBA season’s most scrutinized moments.

After a postgame review, the WNBA upgraded the play to a Flagrant 2, ruling Thomas had “recklessly made contact with her fist to the throat area” of Clark. Thomas received a one-game suspension and a $1,000 fine.

Thomas later said the suspension itself was not her biggest frustration. Instead, she criticized the league’s lack of communication while revealing she had received death threats, racial slurs and other abuse after the incident.

“It’s not even about the suspension. If that’s what they felt was necessary in that moment, then so be it,” Thomas said. “The biggest thing is about our safety… We’re having people threaten our lives… The league has to do better in this instance.”

Thomas also criticized Engelbert’s silence, saying, “We still have yet to hear anything from Cathy… Yeah — it’s unfortunate, but as usual, she remains silent. That’s unfortunate when our lives are being threatened.”

Clark agreed with the league’s decision to upgrade the play to a Flagrant 2 but strongly condemned the online abuse directed at Thomas and other players.

“The harassment, the hate — none of that is OK,” Clark said. “That goes for the opposing teams we play, my teammates, and my coaches… I don’t want anyone to experience that.” She later added that she believed the prolonged focus on the incident had become “a real disservice to our league.”

The latest report has also intensified questions surrounding Engelbert’s future as commissioner. Sports Business Journal reported that league insiders view the controversy as another challenge for the commissioner, while 11 Republican lawmakers later sent Engelbert a letter seeking answers about player safety following the Clark incident. The Indiana Fever and Clark publicly distanced themselves from that letter, saying they had no involvement in it before it was released.