Free Republic

Alyssa Thomas will serve her one-game suspension on Saturday when the Phoenix Mercury visit the Toronto Tempo.The WNBA has suspended Phoenix’s Alyssa Thomas for one game after she made contact with her fist to Caitlin Clark’s throat in Wednesday night’s matchup against Indiana. It happened with 6:52 left in the second quarter and was deemed to be a non-basketball act. The league gave Thomas a Flagrant Foul 2 penalty for it. No foul was called on the play by officials. The WNBA is allowed to review a game to reclassify a Flagrant foul or to classify as Flagrant any...

Caitlin Clark has been urged to leave the WNBA behind after she was the victim of another sickening act of on-court violence. The Indiana Fever superstar, who has transformed the fortunes of the WNBA since entering the league in 2024, appeared to be punched in the throat by Alyssa Thomas of the Phoenix Mercury. It is the latest example of Clark falling victim to rough treatment from rivals, which also marred her rookie season in 2024. But the WNBA continues to overlook the physicality imposed on Clark and referees didn't even bother to call a foul for the incident involving...

One of the WNBA’s most prominent voices wants her league to consider the place of women in America at the birth of the country before agreeing to wear a celebratory jersey patch. Aces forward Brianna Turner, the players association treasurer, balked at the idea that WNBA All-Stars should wear the “USA 250” patch on their jerseys that other professional sports leagues have adopted to celebrate America’s upcoming 250th birthday.

Las Vegas Aces coach Becky Hammon didn't completely back down from her assertion a small player can't lead his team to the NBA championship now that Jalen Brunson has taken the New York Knicks to the NBA Finals. Hammon made her initial comments on ESPN in December 2023, saying the Knicks couldn't win the championship if the 6-foot-2 Brunson was their best player. "If your best player is small, you're not winning," Hammon said at the time. Those comments have generated some buzz after Brunson received the Larry Bird Trophy for MVP of the Eastern Conference finals after the Knicks...

It’s safe to say the WNBA is the most toxic and dysfunctional professional sports league in US history. And the league is incapable of learning from its mistakes. As Joe Hoft reported earlier this year, Caitlin Clark was injurted in the 2026 pre-season opener for the Indianapolis Fever. They had their golden goose, and they ran it over. To date, rather than provide officiating that was fair and protected Clark, the league allowed women in the league to pull, push, hit, poke, hammer, and totally abuse Clark. The beatings and abuse took their toll. No one could have put up...

Ogunbowale, 29, was arrested Thursday on a battery charge for the alleged incident that happened at the club on Northeast 11th Street, the report said.You’re watching the NBC6 South Florida News streaming channel, which plays local South Florida news 24 hours a day, seven days a week. You can find the “NBC6 South Florida News” streaming channel on your phone or computer, and on Peacock, Samsung, Roku, Xumo or on our app, so you can watch our local news on your schedule. WNBA star Arike Ogunbowale was arrested after she allegedly punched a man inside Miami's E11even nightclub, an arrest...

Three former South Carolina women's basketball players have been competing in Israel, Gamecocks coach Dawn Staley said on social media Saturday, and an effort is being made to get them home in the wake of the United States-Israel military strikes against Iran. Staley wrote that Tiffany Mitchell, Mikiah Herbert Harrigan and Destiny Littleton were "in a war zone in Israel." "We are working a plan to get home," Staley wrote on X. "Let us pray for our loved ones to return home safely asap! Thank you in advance." A spokeswoman for South Carolina athletics told ESPN on Saturday night she...

Since coming into the league, Kelsey Plum has been one of the most popular players among WNBA fans, not just because of her skills but also her look. Between her scoring ability and her public profile, she’s always found herself at the center of online conversations — some more unserious than others. This week, one of those discussions took a strange turn on X. A post from @nikas2points sparked chatter after it read, “I feel like Kelsey Plum was meant to be gay. Devastating loss to the lesbian community that this mistake hasn’t been corrected yet.” That single tweet opened...

Taurasi wanted the WNBA to show the girls the money.Diana Taurasi has been one of the WNBA’s most elite players for two decades. The problem was that she was never paid like one. That’s why the 2009 MVP hopes to see the best women’s basketball players receive the compensation they deserve when the next collective bargaining agreement takes effect. “I always thought about I should’ve get paid for being the best basketball player in the world, not for doing social media or doing commercials,” Taurasi told Front Office Sports back in August. “That was one of the things I...

BRISTOL, CT — ESPN will bring its 45 years of sports coverage to a close as it shifts to exclusively covering the WNBA. After originating the 24-hour sports news cycle and becoming a household staple behind its flagship show "Sportscenter", the network had steadily moved away from sports over the past decade to start covering the WNBA. With ESPN canceling its contract with Major League Baseball, the network has officially shut down its last relationship with a sports league. "We want to bring our audience something besides sports. We want to bring them the WNBA," announced ESPN President James Pitaro....

Minnesota Lynx forward Napheesa Collier lambasted WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert and the league office on Tuesday, saying that the WNBA has the “worst leadership in the world.” Less than 48 hours after Minnesota’s season-ending Game 4 semifinals loss to the Phoenix Mercury, Collier read a two-page prepared statement at a news conference in Minneapolis that criticized the league’s officiating, Engelbert and the WNBA’s approach to the ongoing Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations... Englebert released a statement through a WNBA spokesperson on Tuesday afternoon. “I have the utmost respect for Napheesa Collier and for all the players in the WNBA,” she said...

New York Liberty player Natasha Cloud unleashed a torrent of racially-charged posts on X Friday after the identity of the suspected assassination of Charlie Kirk was revealed in Utah. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox confirmed Friday that law enforcement arrested the suspect, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson. Cloud deleted an X post that prompted backlash, in which she made presumptions about the alleged killer's family's political beliefs.....

New York Liberty player Natasha Cloud unleashed a torrent of racially-charged posts on X Friday after the identity of the suspected assassination of Charlie Kirk was revealed in Utah. Utah Gov. Spencer Cox confirmed Friday that law enforcement arrested the suspect, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson. Cloud deleted an X post that prompted backlash, in which she made presumptions about the alleged killer's family's political beliefs. "So how y'all gone twist this? Raised in a good middle class family, dad was an officer/church leader, whole family of Republicans and gun owners [and] Trump supporters," Cloud said in the deleted post. Cloud left...

Chicago Sky star Angel Reese will be suspended for the first half of the team's game Sunday against the Las Vegas Aces for what the organization called "statements detrimental to the team," the Sky announced Friday. "The Chicago Sky values the safety, respect, and well-being of every player," the team said in a prepared statement. "We are committed to accountability so our players can stay focused on playing basketball. This matter has been handled and resolved internally, and we are moving forward as a team." Sky coach Tyler Marsh said before Friday's game against the Indiana Fever that the first-half...

Had the New York Knicks offered their head coaching job to South Carolina women's coach Dawn Staley, who had a formal interview for the position, she said she would have taken it. "I would have had to do it. Not just for me. For women. To break [that door] open," Staley said on the "Post Moves" podcast with WNBA star Aliyah Boston and former WNBA great Candace Parker. "I would have had to. It's the New York Knicks. I'm from Philly. But it's the freaking New York Knicks." The Knicks instead hired Mike Brown in early July to fill their...

Caitlin Clark, the standout guard for the Indiana Fever, has become one of the most electrifying talents in the WNBA. Her scoring prowess, playmaking ability, and leadership have not only helped elevate the Fever but also brought unprecedented attention to the league. However, the 2025 season has been anything but smooth for Clark, whose ongoing injury issues and the team's internal struggles are raising serious questions about her future in professional basketball. Clark's season has been plagued by multiple injuries. She first suffered a right groin injury on July 15, which kept her off the court for more than a...

The story surrounding Caitlin Clark’s mysterious injury keeps evolving, yet Clark has been physically active while she’s supposedly in recovery. BlazeTV host Jason Whitlock believes that like other female sports stars before her, she may be suffering from a mental health decline. “Caitlin Clark has disappeared and vanished. She doesn’t talk to reporters. We’re getting no legitimate information from anybody in the Indiana Fever organization. This is the biggest star in sports, and other than a Sue Bird podcast, we hear nothing,” Whitlock says. “Caitlin Clark has disappeared and vanished. She doesn’t talk to reporters. We’re getting no legitimate information...

Stop me if you've heard this one before: the WNBA has fined Sophie Cuningham for publicly criticizing the league's officiating. The Indiana Fever guard revealed on Tuesday's episode of her Show Me Something podcast that she has received a third fine from the WNBA after she suggested that Dallas Wings rookie Paige Bueckers receives special treatment from refs. "I’m officially 3-for-3 on being fined by the WNBA," Cunningham said. "They didn’t like my comments on Paige Bueckers." The comments came during last week's episode, right after Bueckers and the Wings beat the Fever in Indiana.

Fever guard Sophie Cunningham will miss the remainder of the 2025 season after suffering a right knee injury in Sunday’s overtime win over the Sun, the team announced Wednesday. Cunningham, who sustained the season-ending injury in the second quarter of the game, is expected to make a full recovery. The Fever did not disclose a specific diagnosis.

Former First Lady Michelle Obama weighed in on the rivalry between Caitlin Clark and Angel Reese during a recent interview. “I think the tough thing is the social media element to it, but that’s true across the board,” Obama said Thursday via All The Smoke. “I mean, we’ve talked about this on our show. It just, you know, it just takes a normal occurrence. You know these young kids today, what they have to go through, what they have to be able to withstand because social media is such a huge part of their world.” Obama seemed to suggest that...