The WNBA has elected to not discipline Las Vegas Aces star A'ja Wilson for a heated exchange she got into with an Indiana Fever fan on Tuesday night, sources told ESPN on Thursday. This means Wilson will be able to compete in Thursday's win-or-go-home series finale against the Fever. Her potential absence was a concern as the league was reviewing the situation ahead of Game 3.
The incident occurred late in the fourth quarter of Tuesday's 99–89 Fever win after Indiana's Sophie Cunningham was issued a foul on Wilson. As Cunningham was arguing against the foul, a Fever fan near the baseline stood up and pointed at Wilson. From there, Wilson approached the fan and said, "You don't point at me, you don't point at me." Her teammates intercepted the situation so further frustrations weren't shared.
Wilson received a technical foul for approaching the fan. She only received one technical foul during the regular season, so this situation is not a common occurrence for the four-time MVP. She described what was going through her mind when the fan stood up and pointed at her while talking to reporters after the game.
"...If I see a man come at me, taking steps towards me and pointing at me, I don’t give a [expletive] what you said; I don't give a [expletive] how you said it, the tone. That is unacceptable," Wilson said at her postgame media session. "You don't step towards me and point at me.
I'm not for that [expletive] at all. I apologized to my team because I got us a tech, but there's just certain things that I'm not gonna allow." After the game, Aces coach Becky Hammon emphasized how rare it is for her to see Wilson this upset at a fan. "I didn’t exactly see what happened.
I kind of saw the aftermath. I’ve never seen A’ja Wilson go like that. So, whatever was done, I can tell you she felt very disrespected in that moment," Hammon said.
Extract — continue reading at the source.
