The WNBA released a statement Saturday regarding some “inappropriate and unfortunate” actions toward Brittney Griner inside the Dallas airport earlier in the day.
The league, which did not provide further details on the matter in the statement, said it was gathering additional information about Saturday’s incident and that “the safety of Griner and all WNBA players” remained an “absolute priority”.
“Prior to the season, the WNBA worked with the Phoenix Mercury and BG team to ensure their safety during their travel, which included charter flights to WNBA games, and assigned security personnel with them at all times. “, the press release said. “We remain firmly committed to upholding the highest standards of player safety.”
According to the league, the person at the center of the incident with Griner was described as a “social media figure and provocateur.” The Athletic’s Ben Pickman reported that the person described by the league in its press release is Alex Stein, the host of Prime Time with Alex Stein on Blaze TV.
Stein first tweeted a photo of himself with the Mercury star, using the caption “Calling Out Brittney Griner.” Stein then quoted her own tweet, saying “Just met my favorite WNBA player Brittney Griner” and “video coming soon.”
He later tweeted a clip from the video, asking Griner “did she still want to boycott America.” When Stein was asked to stop “being weird” in the video, he further added that Griner “hates America.”
The incident comes after the Wings beat the Mercury, 90-77, at the College Park Center in Arlington on Friday night. At this time, it is unclear whether the Mercury was preparing to board a charter flight. However, Phoenix is scheduled to face the Fever on Sunday at 5 p.m. ET.
Travel has been a hot topic on the WNBA landscape in recent years. In April, ahead of this year’s WNBA season, the league announced it would provide charter flights for regular season games where organizations play back-to-back games as well as this year’s playoff games.
Following Saturday’s incident involving Griner, the WNBA Players Association released A declaration further emphasizing that teams need chartered flights for every game of the season.
“We are very clear that the issue of charter travel is not a question of ‘competitive advantage,’” the statement said. read. “We can’t help but wonder if the league and teams are opposing more reasonable and flexible rules regarding charter travel in 2023 in order to seek to exert influence on this issue at the bargaining table.
“What BG (Griner) and all of his PHX teammates experienced today was a calculated confrontation that left them in great danger. Everyone who was paying attention knew this was going to happen. We could and should have been more proactive. Allowing teams to fly charter is ONLY about player safety and health, and until the league and teams take this issue seriously, situations like this will continue to happen.
Brianna Turner, Griner’s teammate on the Mercury, expressed her own frustration with the league’s security policy when traveling to and from cities throughout the season.
“The safety of players when traveling must be at the forefront. People following around with cameras and making off-color remarks are never acceptable. Excessive harassment. Our team huddled nervously in a corner, unsure of how to move. We demand better,” Turner tweeted.
Griner played in her first WNBA game in more than 18 months against the Sparks on May 20 after serving nearly 10 months of detention and incarceration in a Russian prison for allegedly transporting cannabis oil through an airport. She was released and returned to the United States in December.
