WNBA, WNBPA release statements regarding incident involving Brittney Griner at Dallas airport

The WNBA launched a remark Saturday afternoon addressing an incident that happened at an airport in Dallas involving avid gamers of the Phoenix Mercury, and particularly Brittney Griner. It’s unclear precisely what happened all over the incident, however Mercury ahead Brianna Turner tweeted about the situation, announcing that individuals had been “following with cameras” and “saying wild remarks” because the workforce used to be at the airport following their sport towards the Dallas Wings Friday night time.

Per the league’s remark:

“As we gather additional information about today’s incident at the Dallas Airport, it has come to our attention that this was orchestrated by a social media figure and provocateur. His actions were inappropriate and unfortunate.”

“The safety of Brittney Griner and all WNBA players is our top priority.  Prior to the season, the WNBA worked together with the Phoenix Mercury and BG’s team to ensure her safety during her travel, which included charter flights for WNBA games and assigned security personnel with her at all times.  We remain steadfastly committed to the highest standards of security for players.” 

Griner and the Mercury had been granted constitution flights this season after the All-Star middle used to be detained for 10 months in Russia for allegedly wearing a marijuana listen in her baggage closing 12 months. When she used to be in spite of everything launched from a Russian jail in December 2022 the league agreed to permit her to fly privately because of safety issues. However, constitution flights aren’t a league-wide same old, and has been one thing avid gamers within the WNBA had been preventing for during the last a number of years.

While it is unclear if the Mercury had been making ready to board a chartered flight or no longer, the participant’s union launched a statement urging for the league to imagine chartered flights for each and every workforce to stay avid gamers secure from scenarios like this.

“What BG and all of her PHX teammates experienced today was a calculated confrontation that left them feeling very unsafe. Everyone who was paying attention knew this would happen. We could have and should have been more proactive. 

Allowing teams to fly charter is ONLY about player health and safety, and until the league and teams take this issue seriously, situations like this will continue to occur. 

Every commercial flight forced upon our players is a threat to their health and safety. We implore the league and the teams not to wait another day to change the rule regarding travel.”

In the previous, the league has argued that chartered flights create an unfair aggressive benefit for groups that can not have the funds for to pay for them over the process a complete season, and the New York Liberty had been fined $500,000 closing season for chartering flights for street video games. However, forward of this season the league agreed to permit constitution flights for normal season video games the place groups had been taking part in on back-to-back nights. That’s along with the already authorized chartered flights for the WNBA Finals, the WNBA Commissioner’s Cup Championship Game, and make a selection video games all over the common season. 

While the league has ceaselessly comfy its regulations on chartered shuttle, Saturday’s incident presentations that industrial shuttle for those groups must be a factor of the previous.