Brittney Griner has not had the best of experiences in life over the last year and a half. Recently, she was berated at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport by a popular YouTuber named Alex Stein. The social media personality heckled Griner about the prisoner swap she was involved in. Much worse, he slammed her with a degrading question asking if she had slept with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Alex Stein Dunks on Brittney Griner!@WNBA @TheWNBPA @espn
— Alex Stein #99 (@alexstein99) June 11, 2023
Her peers and fans believe it is an utter shame that she had to face Stein’s unruly attack. The Phoenix Mercury superstar was arrested in Russia for carrying hashish oil vape canisters through customs. She was detained for several days before getting a chance to speak for herself. Griner spent over seven months in detention before she was ultimately sentenced to nine years in prison.
In December 2022, after several attempts to bring her back to the United States, President Joe Biden and his administration were finally able to orchestrate a prisoner swap. The US released convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout in exchange for Brittney Griner’s freedom. The 2x Olympian made her return to the court this season, however, the nightmares are not over yet.
The WNBA may review travel policies in the wake of Brittney Griner’s recent incident at Dallas
The WNBA travel policy restricts teams to fly its player on chartered flights. Players aren’t allowed to use chartered flights as they are more expensive than flying commercial. However, this has been a topic of concern lately following the incident that took place in Dallas. The safety of players is significantly lower on commercial flights as well. Phoenix Suns owner, Matt Ishbia has previously advocated against this policy.
ESPN had reported that the Mercury and WNBA had worked out a travel plan for Brittney Griner. It was reported that she was only permitted two charter flights throughout the entire year. In addition to it, Griner would have had to get the WNBA’s approval to fly on chartered planes otherwise. ESPN also claimed that Griner was informed to fly first-class on commercial flights if there weren’t charter planes available.
However, these conditions were denied by the WNBA as they claimed they gave Griner the freedom to fly private all year. In the wake of the incident that took place in Dallas, the league is reportedly allowing players to fly charter this season. A charter company called JSX will be providing its services to players who will receive the benefits of flying privately.