Brittney Griner says WNBA travel situation hit ‘rock bottom’ after she has heckled at DFW Airport

Brittney Griner has complained that her WNBA team wasn’t already flying privately before the internationally convicted drug smuggler was questioned about her patriotism and whether she had sex with Vladimir Putin in exchange for her freedom.

“I’ll say this — I think we should have already had the option to use another airline, a more private airline, a charter flight,” Griner said at a virtual news conference Monday.

“It’s a shame it had to come to a rock bottom because I feel like waiting for something to happen and then changing something — you don’t know what that something is going to be.”

Rock bottom for Griner was approached by BlazeTV’s comedy provocateur Alex Stein, who asked her both journalistic and juvenile questions while she was at Dallas Fort Worth Airport earlier this month on the Phoenix Mercury.

Griner declined to respond to Stein in any way, as he asked her questions about the Merchant of Death—whom the U.S. traded for her in exchange—and her affinity for America, among other things. Those questions in particular have not been asked of Griner since her return to American soil in December.

“We’ve all seen what can happen in this world,” she added. “When you play the wait and see game, you are really playing with fire, you are playing with human lives. So I’m glad they finally got it done and let us do this. It’s just a shame it took so damn long, to be honest.’

Then-Phoenix coach Vanessa Nygaard confirmed after the incident with Stein that the team would make travel adjustments for upcoming road games to avoid similar situations in the future. It is unknown what the next and current travel plans are, with both the team and the WNBA revealing little for security reasons.

Stein released a full clip of his interaction with Griner on June 11, asking, “Was that a fair trade for the Merchant of Death?” I know you kill it on the field, but he kills it in real life.

“Is it true that you had to have sex with Vladimir Putin to be released from Russia? Briton? What about his wife?’

After Stein’s taunts, the Mercury were finally escorted to a room at the airport to get away from the comedian.

It is not the first time Griner has spoken of concerns about the wages paid to WNBA players. At her first press conference since returning from Russia, a reporter posed as Griner and other WNBA players nevertheless felt a ‘need’ to play abroad the average salary for the entire league in 2022 in excess of six figures for the 36-game season.

“I will say this, the reason many of us get over it is the pay gap. Many of us go there to earn an income to support our family, to support ourselves. I hope our competition continues to grow. With so many people here right now discussing this, I hope you continue to beat our league, give us exposure.

‘It’s a pity that we have to leave our families behind on vacation, you miss everything when you’re gone. As much as I’d love to pay my light bill for the love of the game, I can’t,” said Griner, who earns $165,100 this season.

The response from the American public was not overwhelmingly positive after Griner’s return, especially given her earlier comments about boycotting the national anthem, a stance she has changed since her return from imprisonment in Russia. Why this is, the public does not yet know.

New York Liberty star Breanna Stewart, who serves on the executive committee of the WNBA players union, revealed earlier this month that she is content with Griner flying to other players and teams in the league as an alternative.

“I don’t think anyone would object to BG having charter flights whenever she wants so she can be herself and travel and be comfortable and safe,” Stewart said. “Because that’s the last thing we want is what happened.”