Brittney Griner and her Phoenix Mercury teammates confronted a “troublemaker” at a Dallas airport on Saturday, the WNBA said.
The league said in a statement that it was investigating the team’s confrontation with a “social media figure” whose “actions were inappropriate and unfortunate.”
“The safety of Brittney Griner and all WNBA players is our highest priority,” the league said, without specifying what exactly happened.
Griner and her supporters had pushed for charter flights after she returned from detention in Russia, saying the highly publicized case compromised her safety and the safety of others. The league granted Griner permission to book her own charter flights to road games.
Mercury player Brianna Turner said in a tweet that people at the airport followed the team with cameras “saying wild comments.”
“Excessive harassment,” Turner tweeted. “Our nervous team huddled in a corner not knowing how to move. We demand better.”
A Twitter user posted a video that appears to show a portion of the confrontation.
The Bring Our Families Home Campaign, an activist group that works to bring home Americans held hostage or detained in foreign countries, issued a statement condemning the incident.
“Addressing a recently returned hostage in this manner is unacceptable, and we urge social media companies to prohibit monetization of any resulting content. Our campaign stands with Brittney, her teammates and the Phoenix Mercury,” the statement said. organization.
The WNBA has added charter flights for the playoffs this season, but only a handful of consecutive regular-season games were scheduled for charter flights.
WNBA teams have flown commercially during the regular season since the league’s inception in 1997. The league typically does not allow teams to charter flights because it could create a competitive advantage for teams that can afford them.
“Prior to the season, the WNBA worked closely with the Phoenix Mercury and the BG team to ensure her safety during her travels, which included chartered flights to WNBA games and assigned security personnel with her at all times,” reads the league statement. “We remain firmly committed to the highest standards of player safety.”
The WNBA Players Union issued a statement Saturday, saying the situation at the airport makes it “pretty clear that the charter issue is NOT a ‘competitive advantage’ issue.”
“What BG and all of her PHX teammates experienced today was a calculated confrontation that left them feeling very unsafe,” the WNBPA statement said. “Everyone who was paying attention knew this would happen.”
The Mercury issued a statement saying the team will work with the league on next steps.
“We are committed to our support of BG and advocating for all American hostages abroad,” the team’s statement read. “We will continue to support marginalized communities and fight the kind of hate that has attacked us today. No one, regardless of identity, should ever fear for their safety.”
