Phoenix Mercury All-Star Alyssa Thomas is the latest villain to Caitlin Clark fans after punching Clark in the throat during a game on Wednesday night.The referees missed the punch in real time, but fans and the league office did not.A viral clip of the punch in slow motion spread across social media, pouring gasoline on the ongoing culture war surrounding Clark’s physical treatment by opposing players, which has been a controversial issue dating back to Clark's rookie season in 2024.CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COMAnd Less than 24 hours after the incident, the WNBA slapped Thomas with a one-game suspension for what was deemed a "reckless" and "non-basketball act."Who is the woman behind the punch?In a 2019 interview with Nike PLAYlist, Thomas answered what sport she would have gone pro in if she didn't go pro in basketball."Either boxing or MMA," Thomas said.If Thomas never went pro in any sport, she said she would have gotten into dentistry."Since I was a kid, I loved going to the dentist.I just was fascinated with teeth and still am.
I’m passionate about that whole process of cleaning," according to a profile on WNBA.com.Thomas was signed up to try basketball for the first time at the age of five by her mother, Tina, per the WNBA.Thomas said she "Threw myself all down the stairs, down the hallway," while her mom said "She just threw an absolute hissy fit."WNBA SUSPENDS ALYSSA THOMAS FOR 'RECKLESSLY' HITTING CAITLIN CLARK IN THROAT DURING SCRAMBLEThomas' parents never took it easy on her when they played "Candyland" as she was growing up."We weren’t the parents that were just going to let you win," Tina said, per the WNBA."In life, you have to fight, and how are you going to fight if you don’t teach your kids to fight? So if she fell over, ‘get up, you’re alright,’ and if she didn’t get up, you knew something was wrong."It was a parenting tactic also used by the father of New York Yankees legend Derek Jeter, who famously never le...