WNBA, WNBPA Meet After Caitlin Clark-Alyssa Thomas Incident to Discuss Officiating, Security, More

The WNBA and WNBPA announced in a joint statement that the two sides met Wednesday to discuss officiating, security and racist and hateful messaging directed at the players.

According to Annie Costabile of The Athletic, the meeting included the WNBPA executive committee, the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion committee and league security.

The meeting was requested by the players' association in the aftermath of Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas hitting Indiana Fever guard Caitlin Clark in the throat, and the divisive and toxic discourse that followed. Thomas was ultimately suspended for one game and said she received death threats and was called racial slurs after the incident.

Other WNBA players publicly brought forward instances of receiving racial abuse as well.

"The biggest thing was communication," Chicago Sky center and WNBPA secretary Elizabeth Williams told Costabile regarding the meetings. "Communication from [WNBA commissioner Cathy Englebert] and the league side being a little more consistent, you know, so we feel more comfortable. Overall, there are steps that are being taken, which is encouraging. But we just want to see a little more consistency."

The WNBA and WNBPA reportedly discussed making meetings like the one held on Wednesday a more regular occurrence, though none are currently scheduled

"We don't want it to just be how it was. It felt like desperation," Williams said. "We want to feel a little more collaborative. So we talked about that, having them more frequently even when things are going right."