Brittney Griner has been a name that has been involved in multiple controversies since her release in December 2022. The WNBA star made a safe return to the United States after spending 10 months behind bars in Russia. However, not all were ecstatic about her release. Some Americans were unhappy about the fact that the US government overlooked a former marine’s condition and secured Brittney’s return instead.
That was ultimately one of the reasons why she was recently ambushed at an airport. There have been plenty of talks about Brittney being allowed on charter flights, with her safety being a major concern. However, until that point, the WNBA had not mentioned that Brittney will be allowed to travel on private flights.
Alex Stein Dunks on Brittney Griner!@WNBA @TheWNBPA @espn
— Alex Stein #99 (@alexstein99) June 11, 2023
A YouTuber named Alex Stein ambushed the Phoenix Mercury center at Dallas airport a few weeks ago and left the basketball world questioning his behavior. He asked her several controversial questions and even said that Brittney hated the country. Recently, Brittney spoke out on the matter, after recent developments from WNBA’s side.
Brittney Griner slams the WNBA for lack of precautions
Brittney said, “I’ll say this. I think we should have already had the option to use a different airline, a more private airline, charter flights. It’s a shame that it had to get to rock bottom, because I feel like waiting for something to happen and then making a change … you don’t know what that ‘something’s’ going to be.” (via ESPN)
“We’ve all seen what can happen in this world. And when you play the ‘let’s-wait-and-see game,’ you’re really playing with fire. You’re playing with people’s lives,” she added.
The WNBA recently announced that Griner will be allowed to travel on private flights, as the incident in Dallas was mainly a question of safety. Reports claim that Brittney will be allowed to travel on private flights for all the away games going forward. This will be a huge step for Brittney, especially since she believes that it would help to prevent lives being put at risk.
The league allows teams to use the JSX airline, but a major drawback is that there aren’t hubs in all of the American cities. This was one of the reasons why Griner was forced to take the commercial route on the day of the incident. However, it looks like that might not be the case anymore, since Brittney would be allowed to travel on different routes along with her Mercury teammates.