A former Philadelphia 76ers orthopedic consultant is raising alarms about the physical toll Caitlin Clark absorbs every time she steps on a WNBA court, and warning that the league's failure to rein in dangerous contact could lead to a career-altering or even life-threatening injury.
Dr. Nicholas DiNubile, who served as orthopedic consultant for the 76ers, told Fox News Digital that the pattern of hard fouls against the Indiana Fever guard has moved well past the rough-and-tumble of competitive basketball. The contact Clark faces, DiNubile said, threatens her long-term health, and the league's officiating has not kept pace with the problem.
His warning arrives as Clark sits out with a back injury and the WNBA grapples with the fallout from Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas punching Clark in the throat during their most recent matchup. Referees did not call a foul on the play. The league later suspended Thomas for one game.
DiNubile did not hold back about what a throat strike can do to a professional athlete. He laid out the medical reality in clinical terms that should give the league office pause:
"You can crush someone's larynx with very little pressure. Ten to 20 pounds of pressure can damage the throat or larynx area. Even if you don't fracture the larynx, a blow to that area, you could get some swelling or bleeding and close the airway and get into a very rapid life-or-death situation."
That is not hyperbole from a talking head. It is a board-credentialed sports medicine professional describing the anatomy of a blow that went uncalled in a nationally watched game.
DiNubile added that the throat is far from the only vulnerability. He described a pattern of contact that targets Clark's face, eyes, head, and landing space, the area where a shooter comes down after releasing a jump shot or three-pointer.
"She gets a lot to her face. She gets poked in the eye. She gets hit in the face. And they also, with her three-point shooting... there's a lot of where they get in her space and her landing space. You see that way too often and that's very, very dangerous."
Landing-space violations are among the most feared plays in basketball because they can cause ankle, knee, and spinal injuries when a shooter lands on a defender's foot or body. DiNubile connected the dots to head injuries, concussions, and uncontrolled falls, all of which compound over time.
Fox News Digital has documented 13 instances of controversial contact against Clark dating back to the start of her 2024 rookie season. The list includes multiple eye pokes, facial hits, and the kind of hard fouls that in other leagues would draw immediate ejections.
Clark herself has previously revealed that she suffered a ruptured eardrum from on-court contact. She played only 13 games last season due to various injuries, AP News reported, and has already missed at least one game this season for the back injury. Indiana coach Stephenie White told reporters Clark sustained the back injury in the same Phoenix game where Thomas struck her in the throat.
White said Clark would miss Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Sparks. "Long-term health and wellness is the most important thing," White said. "Making sure that she's 100% ready to go is the most important thing."
The Fever have a week-long break after Saturday, giving Clark additional recovery time. But recovery time does not solve a systemic problem.
What happened after the throat punch tells you as much about the WNBA's priorities as the punch itself.
Thomas received a one-game suspension. Then, after what the league described as verbal retaliation directed at Thomas for the incident, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert issued a public statement, not in defense of Clark, but in defense of Thomas.
"The safety and well-being of everyone in our community is always the league's top priority. We are aware of Alyssa Thomas' comments, and what she and her teammates have experienced is completely unacceptable and not representative of the WNBA community."
Engelbert added that the league's security team had been in contact with the Phoenix Mercury organization and remained "committed to protecting all players."
No comparable statement was issued in support of Clark after she was punched in the throat.
Thomas, for her part, told reporters she had received death threats, racial slurs, and had her home address leaked online in the aftermath of the incident, Breitbart reported. Thomas described the foul as a "complete accident" and said neither she nor her teammates were aware of it during the game.
"Now we're being painted as thugs. There's death threats out on us. It's really unacceptable. It's something that needs to change in this league," Thomas said.
No one should face death threats or doxxing. That is criminal conduct, and any responsible person condemns it. But the league's decision to rush to Thomas's defense while offering no public statement about the safety of the player who was struck in the throat raises an obvious question about institutional priorities.
Even Clark's head coach appeared to redirect focus away from the physical danger her star player faces. Stephenie White spoke at practice on Wednesday, not about the throat punch, not about the back injury, not about the 13 documented instances of hard contact, but about online behavior directed at other players.
"I think as a league, as a whole, there's been so much more toxicity, racism, homophobia, straight-out nonsense... it is absolutely unacceptable."
White added: "If you are one of these people that are online doing this, do not call yourself a WNBA fan."
Online harassment is a real problem. But when the Fever's own coach uses her platform to defend the player who punched her franchise player in the throat, rather than demanding accountability from the league for the physical safety of the athlete sitting out with injuries, it is fair to ask whose interests the institution is serving.
DiNubile was blunt about Clark's options for self-protection. She does not have any.
"It's hard to protect yourself with those type of... And that's why they're flagrant fouls, right? You just... There, there's no way to really protect yourself in those instances... she takes it in stride. I don't think she brings any of it on herself."
He placed the burden squarely on the officials and the league office. "I think they should be calling things. They can officiate better," DiNubile said. "I mean, how do they miss this?"
That question hangs over the entire controversy. Referees stood on the court and watched Alyssa Thomas make contact with Caitlin Clark's throat. They did not blow a whistle. The league reviewed the play after the fact, issued a one-game suspension, and then spent its public-relations energy defending the player who threw the punch.
DiNubile said the situation keeps team doctors awake at night. "I wouldn't want to be the team doctor having to deal with that," he said. "That's what keeps us up at night, those kind of things that you have to respond to on the court... you can't go for the throat."
Caitlin Clark is the most marketable player the WNBA has ever had. She filled arenas during her rookie year. She drove television ratings to historic levels. She is, by any measure, the commercial engine of the league.
She has also absorbed 13 documented incidents of controversial contact in roughly a season and a half, suffered a ruptured eardrum, missed significant time with injuries, and now sits out with a back problem sustained in the same game where she was punched in the throat without a foul call.
The WNBA's commissioner issued a statement this week. It defended the player who threw the punch. The Fever's coach issued a statement this week. It addressed online harassment of other players. A former NBA team doctor issued a statement this week. He was the only one who talked about protecting Caitlin Clark.
When a league's biggest star is the one person nobody in charge will stand up for, the problem is not the fans. It is the institution.
