Nate Tibbetts is not buying the growing criticism aimed at Alyssa Thomas and the Phoenix Mercury. Specifically, what Indiana Fever head coach Stephanie White said in her postgame reaction to Alyssa Thomas’ uncalled fist-to-the-throat foul against Caitlin Clark was quite ridiculous to Tibbetts. And he has now come out to push back against it, standing firmly by his player.

“I respect Steph White,” Tibbetts said, as shared by Yahoo Sports on X. “And I understand her standing up for Caitlin in this situation. But to say that we had two cheap shots in that game, to me, is ridiculous.”

After that game on Wednesday night, Stephanie White had called out two fouls against Clark in a rather blunt fashion. She specifically described them as cheap shots.

“We have a generational talent and a WNBA superstar who had two cheap shots right there that weren’t called. And I just say again, absolutely unacceptable,” White said.

The first one was obviously the Alyssa Thomas foul, while the second was Valériane Ayayi’s closeout, which had Clark shoot a three-pointer and land directly on the defender’s foot before falling afterwards.

Saying that those fouls were cheap shots, especially the Alyssa Thomas one, simply means Stephanie White was suggesting that there might have been a hint of intentionality, malice, or reckless disregard for a player’s safety behind the fouls. Tibbetts, however, does not believe those were intentional actions. At least not from Alyssa Thomas, who he described as a competitor that even Stephanie White knows well.

“Steph knows AT. She got the opportunity to coach AT for two years, and she knows what AT stands for and what she’s about,” he said. “The people in this league know who AT is. She’s a competitor, she’s a winner, and she’s tough. But one thing she’s not is cheap,” he also added while reiterating the Phoenix Mercury’s support for the player.

At the end of the day, it does seem like each coach is coming to the defense of their players. And that is quite understandable. Perhaps, eventually, the narratives around this Alyssa Thomas fist-to-the-throat action against Caitlin Clark, which has been the major conversation around the WNBA since it happened, will eventually die down. The league, after review, assigned Thomas a flagrant foul and a one-game suspension. 

Although both sides of the debate, the pro-Clark and pro-Thomas sides, still found the WNBA’s handling of the situation unsatisfactory. But regardless of what action the WNBA took, it is unlikely that there will ever be a decision that both sides will be fully on board with.

Phoenix Mercury HC Nate Tibbetts Calls Out WNBA Leaders Over Alyssa Thomas Suspension Process

Phoenix Mercury HC Nate Tibbetts also reacted to the WNBA suspension of Alyssa Thomas. To him, the whole process was handled without proper due process, and that was disappointing.

“I’d like to hit on my disappointment in the suspension process by our league and our leaders in the W,” he said. “This was not a thorough investigation, in my opinion. The people involved were not questioned at all. It’s extremely disappointing. No one from the league called AT, our security team, or me about what we felt happened in this situation.”

For coach Tibbetts, the WNBA should have followed these protocols. That is, they should have done a thorough investigation that involved questioning the people directly involved. And after that, they can then reach a conclusion or verdict.

However, going by the WNBA rule book, the WNBA does not actually require a formal investigation, interviews, or testimony to issue a retrospective suspension. The WNBA league office reserves the explicit right to review video footage of any game retroactively. They can reclassify any on-floor call or classify a complete no-call as a flagrant foul after the game concludes. And that was exactly what they did.