Brittney Griner only had two road trips planned for the 2023 WNBA season.
According to ESPN, the Phoenix Mercury player will fly charter for the remainder of the season after being harassed about her time spent in a Russian prison while passing through a public terminal at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.
The WNBA forbids teams from arranging charters to save the millions of dollars in fees, which has been a point of contention between the league and its players for years. Mat Ishbia, owner of Mercury, is one of the owners who supports charter flights.
Due to her detention, Griner has certainly become a particular case, and the hostility she experienced last weekend has raised questions about her safety when travelling commercially.
It’s getting harder to figure out why Griner took a commercial flight to Dallas. Prior to the start of the season, the WNBA claimed to have worked with the Mercury to develop a plan for Griner that included charter flights and security staff, but according to ESPN, the league only pre-approved two charter flights for her the entire time. According to reports, Griner had a “hybrid plan” in place that called for the WNBA to sanction more charter aircraft as long as Griner and no one else was permitted to use them. When charter planes weren’t an option, Griner was expected to travel in first class on scheduled flights.
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