


Mercury head coach Vanessa Nygaard promised changes are coming after Brittney Griner’s airport incident.
Controversial right wing YouTuber Alex Stein, who is known best for disturbing local government meetings and calling out politicians, confronted Griner with questions while recording her and teammates at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport on Saturday morning.
“We will be making adjustments that maybe should’ve happened before, but right now, we’re going to prioritize the safety of our players, and we’ve seen that our organization has supported us,” Nygaard said, according to ESPN.com, following Phoenix’s 85-82 victory over the Indiana Fever.
Unlike teams in other professional sports leagues, WNBA teams are forbidden from chartering flights by the collective bargaining agreement.
But Griner’s unique situation due to her 10 months confined in a Russian prison and the publicity surrounding it caused the league to grant her special permission to fly charter flights for her safety.
Griner, 32, was accused of having vape cartridges and was detained at a Russian airport in February.
She was released in December in exchange for arms dealer Viktor Bout.
“The safety of Brittney Griner and all WNBA players is our top priority,” the WNBA said in a statement. “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 committed to the highest standards of security for players.”
Mercury guard Diana Taurasi told reporters that the incident with Griner “can’t happen.”
“The safety of everyone comes first,” Tarausi said. “You know basketball is secondary to all that. People have families, kids. To be put in that situation really is disrespectful, to not only BG, but to our team, to the league.”
Another one of Griner’s teammates, center Brianna Turner, described the incident as “alarming.”
“I would say yesterday was a huge disappointment,” Turner said. “I don’t blame the league. Obviously, no one could have predicted this. But at the same time, I think more measures could have been in place.”
Griner scored 29 points in the victory over the Fever, which improved the Mercury’s record to 2-5.
Griner leads the team in points (22.7) and rebounds (7.1) per game this season.
The Mercury will be back home to take on the Storm on Monday night.