Let's start with the plain facts. The WNBA is a garbage sports league. They put out a poor product on the whole, then sit around scratching their heads, baffled about why they can't get enough people to fill up the seats in their arenas. This is also the same league that has failed to protect Indiana Fever star Caitlin Clark from verbal and physical attacks from her fellow players over the three years since she was drafted from Iowa.
So, people may have seen the story making the viral rounds on Friday about some fireworks at one of the league's games on Thursday night. It featured the Phoenix Mercury - playing on their home court, the Mortgage Matchup Center in downtown Phoenix - against the Indiana Fever. But I need to give a little background first.
Providing some much-needed drama ahead of the rematch, if there was any, was the fact that this was the two teams' first time playing each other since a Mercury player made that throat-punch move against Clark in Indianapolis on June 24. I previously wrote on how well the player has managed to gracefully overcome the haters - because she puts in the work to be excellent.
As my colleague Sister Toldjah wrote at the time, the Mercury player in question - Alyssa Thomas - wasn't immediately charged with multiple fouls on the play. But Fever coach Stephanie White refused to stay silent during the postgame presser, and the controversy over such a lack of sportsmanship by the opposing team could be heard around the world and back in the ensuing hours.
Stephanie White went off on the officials for not calling what she deemed two "cheap shots" on Caitlin Clark.
— espnW (@espnW) June 25, 2026
Clark exited in the second half because of back issues. pic.twitter.com/gj1Y1GfiOC
Toldjah also wrote about the classless move by the Mercury's official social media account (Note: the post showing it has been deleted, but another user commenting on it shared it, below):
Incredibly, the Phoenix Mercury X account made matters worse by tweeting and then deleting a rendering showing one of the players involved in the incident, DeWanna Bonner, mocking Clark shielding herself from the attack:
The Phoenix Mercury accidentally uploaded the censored version of events.
— Evelyn DR (@prettygirle2004) June 25, 2026
I simply restored the missing footage to better reflect the historical record.
Director’s Cut. 🎬✅💀@PhoenixMercury @IndianaFever @AmberLCox @LD_ChalkTalk @sophaller @CaitlinClark22 @cbrennansports… pic.twitter.com/VXZN4Nosa2
And S.T. added that the WNBA did punish Thomas, as ESPN reported on June 25, "suspend[ing her] for one game after receiving a Flagrant foul 2 penalty."
As you can see in the coach remarks post, Clark suffered a back injury and had to exit the game.
Fast-forward to Thursday's game in Arizona, with the Mercury starters refusing to stand on the court during the playing of the national anthem, in protest of the player suspension for Thomas. The screenshot showing half of the court sitting empty, while the Fever players are standing respectfully, has gone viral.
INBOX: The WNBA's Phoenix Mercury team reportedly WALKED OFF the court yesterday during the national anthem
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 10, 2026
They LOST 92-89.
FAFO pic.twitter.com/fiSFCS0rXs
But it seems many missed some other details of the game, like the fact Clark wasn't even on the court at any point in it, with the coach placing her on the injured list to "rest" after the Fever played back-to-back games on Wednesday and Thursday, as local AZ sports reporter Julia Lopez shared on X.
Here's the delicious cream cheese icing on the oversized cinnamon roll, in my opinion, though... just how much the Mercury fans beclowned themselves, and it was all for nothing. A hat tip is in order for Charles Curtis at USA Today's For the Win blog.
RedState has previously written about WNBA's stylish and ultra-feminine star Sophie Cunningham, who was a Mercury player, but now plays for the Fever. Even people who have never watched a single professional women's basketball game will know her from the viral meme of her pointing. This was during some prior tumult between the two teams, followed by Cunningham's pointing at Phoenix Mercury forward DeWanna Bonner.
READ MORE: WNBA Player Sophie Cunningham Brings Unique Interpretation of Dressing for Success
Well, Mercury fans tried to troll the Fever player during Thursday night's game, peppering her with boos whenever she stepped on the court, even pointing en masse at her when refs gave her an offensive foul. But when the numbers were tallied at the end, Cunningham delivered her "point" move again at the fans.
As Curtis wrote in his For the Win story linked above:
And why did she deliver the point at them? Well, remember that she's a former Mercury player, and she heard it from the crowd all night...you know who had the last laugh here.
Awesome. Just a few stray points on the national anthem disrespect that my hometown Phoenix Mercury showed our country.
Readers might recall back when we covered the Summer Olympic Games in 2023, when former Mercury player Brittney Griner managed to gain an appreciation for "The Star-Spangled Banner." In fact, it moved her to tears of national pride. Why can't her teammates show the same respect and emotion?
And let me quickly dispense with the recent chatter from a congresscritter (it doesn't really matter which one), who insists the federal government should investigate and, one supposes, punish the WNBA over Caitlin Clark's mistreatment.
To my great relief, my colleague and lawyer extraordinaire, Jim Thompson, majestically dismantled - just under a year ago - a WSJ op-ed calling for a similar expedition for something that is definitely not outlined in the Constitution conservatives know. Suggesting otherwise is no less dumb in 2026.
Now, it's one thing to see a furor from random social media users while reacting to what happened with the anthem, but what about sports fans? Glad you asked, reader. Here's a now ex-Mercury fan who says she was at last night's game - and she won't be giving the Phoenix WNBA team any more of her money:
So... I went to my very first @WNBA game last night. @PhoenixMercury vs the @IndianaFever.
— Deakon4Laughs (@deakon4laughs) July 10, 2026
The Merc walked off of the floor before the national anthem to protest it.
The Fever stayed on for the national anthem.
Never going to another Mercury game again. pic.twitter.com/IyxW6YtGMW
My colleague Bonchie nailed it in an X post, calling their loss a "perfect" result:
For those keeping track, the Phoenix Mercury did a throat punch on Caitlin Clark. They then got backlash for it. That backlash was naturally claimed as racism. So they then walked out on the national anthem to protest.
— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) July 10, 2026
And lost 92-89.
Just perfect. https://t.co/5YDg0Zd3fD
