![]() “We’re representing the league, we’re representing the city of Phoenix, our organization and in times like that we don’t want to cause a big scene. “That’s obviously nothing no one wants to deal with, especially on a business trip for work,” Phoenix center Brianna Turner said, noting the players were escorted to a more private room in the airport. WNBA teams have flown commercially during the regular season since the league’s inception in 1997.īut Saturday’s incident may force everyone in the league to revisit the issue. Charter flights were added for the entire playoffs this year as well as a handful of back-to-back regular-season games were scheduled for such flights. The league granted Griner permission to book her own charter flights. Even then, league officials were talking to Mercury officials and the All-Star center’s representatives about how to protect Griner and her teammates following the highly-publicized case. Griner’s security has been a concern since before the season began. This past week, she played twice her home state of Texas and Indianapolis was no different Sunday as fans gave her the loudest ovation of any opponent during player introductions. Griner has been warmly received by crowds at home and on the road all season. If her being home makes some people mad, I think that obviously says more about them than it does about her.” “I’m grateful that our team and our staff are physically well and most of all I’m grateful that BG has been back here in the United States for 185 days now. “No one should be a victim of targeted harassment,” Nygaard said. ![]() She did not respond to Stein and has not spoken publicly about the airport incident since it occurred, Griner was released in December after being detained in Russia for nearly 10 months on drug charges. He questioned Griner on topics ranging from whether she hated America to whether the trade for a Russian prisoner was a fair deal to obtain her release from Russia. The controversy stems from a 93-second video posted Sunday by Alex Stein, who was shouting at Griner. She also said Phoenix already has adjusted its plans for future road trips though she declined to provide details, citing league policy and team safety protocols. Nygaard echoed those comments during a 75-second pregame statement in which she offered support for Griner and concern about everyone who made the trip to Indy. So hopefully they can take steps into making sure the security of our players throughout the league is at the forefront.” People have families, kids and to be put in that situation really is pretty disrespectful not only to BG but to our team, to the league. The safety of everyone comes first basketball is secondary to all that. ![]() “That can’t happen for our players or coaches. “It’s unnerving to be in a situation like that and unfortunately, it was literally the first time we were in public together,” said Taurasi, who turned 41 on Sunday. Longtime star Diana Taurasi’s pregame advice to Griner was simply to “breathe” and Taurasi asked the league not to shrug it off. Clearly, though, the incident had an impact on Phoenix.
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