I don’t think Brittney Griner’s harasser is a jerk. This is something that fools do. fool gonna fool. Don’t expect me to say the fool’s name, either. The weirdos and haters who make up the buffoon economy will give him enough attention.
No, I don’t blame the idiot for how Griner, an American hero and citizen, was treated at the airport. I blame the WNBA, which doesn’t seem to understand that all of its players need charter planes to keep them safe.
On Saturday, a video was shared of Griner and her teammates being harassed and followed at a Dallas airport. It was clear that Griner would be picked on. In a statement, the WNBA said that Griner is given “charter flights for WNBA games and assigned security personnel to be with her at all times.”
But what about the other women in the WNBA? The way Griner and her friends were treated shows why WNBA teams need charter flights and why the league has failed to protect all of its players by not securing them.
Brianna Turner, a forward for Phoenix, said that Phoenix Mercury players were watched and “crazy things” were said to them. Turner said on Twitter, “Our team was huddled together nervously in a corner, not sure what to do.”
The problem of charters in the WNBA has been a big one for a while, but it got a lot bigger when Griner got out of prison in Russia. In many ways, the fact that charters aren’t used much in the WNBA is a sign that professional sports for men and women aren’t equal.
Teams use codes for a reason. It’s not just about ease and comfort. It also has to do with safety. To put it bluntly, WNBA players could be in danger if they don’t come by charter. Why? They are some of the most outspoken and politically active players in all of sports. This is good, and they are very brave to do it. But this makes them targets, and we live in a dangerous country where the right wing says horrible things about people it sees as its enemies. We’ve seen this happen many, many times.
The same thing that made Griner a target for the right also made her a target for the Russians: She is a Black lesbian. You’ll hear other excuses and lies about why they don’t like her, but those are the real reasons.
Again, this was something that could have been seen coming. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has said before that without supporters or backers, charters for all 12 teams are not possible right now. She thought it would cost somewhere around $20 million.
“We’ve asked all of the major airlines,” she said earlier this year. “We have asked charter firms. I’ve been working on this ever since I joined the league. If we could find an investor or some other way to pay for it, I’m all ears.”
I find it hard to think that the WNBA doesn’t have enough money to do this. This looks more like a lack of imagination and planning. Some players and Griner’s lawyer said on Saturday that they don’t buy what the WNBA is selling.
In a statement after the event, the Women’s National Basketball Players Association said, “Every commercial flight forced upon our players is a threat to their health and safety.” “What BG and all of her PHX teammates went through today was a planned confrontation that made them feel very unsafe,” the union said. Anyone who was paying attention could see that this was going to happen. We could have been more aggressive, and we should have been. We beg the league and the teams to change the rule about travel as soon as possible.”
I know the WNBA can do more because in April, they took a small step to protect players. This was likely in response to pressure from players and others to make travel safer. They said that this season’s charter scheme would be bigger, with charters for the playoffs, the Commissioner’s Cup game, and some regular season games.
They can do even better if they can do that.
In a statement made on Saturday, the WNBA said, “Before the season started, the WNBA worked with the Phoenix Mercury and BG’s team to make sure she was safe while traveling. This included chartering flights for WNBA games and making sure she had security with her at all times.” We are still committed to keeping players’ safety at the top level.”
This is just talk. Let’s see more action, because Griner and other WNBA players will be harassed by a fool in the future, just like what we just saw.
