Adam Silver urged WNBA to suspend Alyssa Thomas, per report

Thomas was not called for a foul for the incident but was later given a Flagrant Foul 2 penalty and a one-game suspension for "recklessly making contact with her fist to the throat area" of Clark. She was also given a $1,000 fine.

SBJ reports that Engelbert initially did not plan to impose any discipline on Thomas and added that the publication's sources said that "Silver believed there was clear evidence of a flagrant foul, that he felt badly for Clark and told Engelbert she had to act."

According to WNBA rules, the league office may review and reclassify any foul not called during a game and impose a fine and/or suspension.

Silver was asked about Engelbert's job performance during an NBA Summer League news conference this week.

"Cathy and I work together, and I don’t want to speak for Cathy,” Silver said. “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 the league.”

Silver was asked the same thing in March when the WNBA signed a historic new collective bargaining agreement.

"We ​haven't had those discussions yet with the WNBA board," ​Silver previously said. "I would only say Cathy has done a ​fantastic job since she's come to the WNBA. Obviously, you ​could see (that) in the results."

The 61-year-old Englebert has been WNBA commissioner since 2019, and her tenure has been rocky at times. Just this past week, she was criticized for canceling a scheduled interview with radio host Dan Patrick.