Chiney Ogwumike's defense of Alyssa Thomas reinforced everything critics say about the WNBA media

It takes remarkable intellectual gymnastics to watch the WNBA suspend Alyssa Thomas for striking Caitlin Clark in the throat and still argue that the controversy was driven more by optics than by the hit itself.

Yet that's exactly where parts of the league's media landed.

When Phoenix Mercury forward Alyssa Thomas hit Caitlin Clark in the throat last Wednesday, the league eventually corrected the officials' mistake by upgrading the play to a Flagrant 2 and issuing a one-game suspension.