I don’t blame the buffoon who harassed Brittney Griner. This is what buffoons do. Buffoon gonna buffoon. And don’t expect me to mention the name of the buffoon. He will get enough attention from the weirdos and trolls who make up the buffoon economy.
No, I don’t blame the buffoon for Griner, who is an American hero and patriot, being harassed at an airport. I blame the WNBA who doesn’t seem to get that WNBA players, all of them, need charter flights for their protection.
Video was posted of Griner and her teammates being followed and harassed at a Dallas airport on Saturday. Griner getting harassed was extremely predictable. The WNBA said in its statement that Griner is provided “charter flights for WNBA games and assigned security personnel with her at all times.”
But what about other WNBA players? The harassing of Griner and her teammates highlights why charter flights are needed for WNBA teams, and it demonstrates why the WNBA has failed in protecting all of its players by not securing them.
Phoenix forward Brianna Turner said Phoenix Mercury players were followed as “wild remarks” were shouted at them. “Our team nervously huddled in a corner unsure how to move about,” Turner said on Twitter.
The issue of charters in the WNBA has been a big one for some time but it became a much larger one after Griner was released from a Russian prison. The minimal use of charters in the WNBA, in many ways, is a symbol of inequality between men and women in professional sports.
There’s a reason teams use charters. It’s not just the comfort and convenience. It’s also about safety. To be blunt, it’s potentially dangerous for WNBA players to not fly via charter. Why? They are some of the most politically active and outspoken athletes in all of sports. This is a good thing and they are incredibly brave. But this makes them targets and we are in a violent country with a right wing that pushes horrific rhetoric toward its perceived opponents. We’ve seen this over and over and over again.
Griner became a target of the right for the same reason she became a target of the Russians: She’s a queer Black woman. You’ll hear other excuses and lies about why they don’t like her but those are the reasons.
And, again, it was predictable this was going to happen. Commissioner Cathy Engelbert has stated before that charters for all 12 teams aren’t doable now without sponsors or backers. She estimated it would cost approximately $20 million.
“We’ve asked all the major airlines,” she said earlier this year. “We’ve asked charter companies. I’ve been working on this since the moment I came into the league. … If we could get it sponsored or funded in some way … I’m all ears.”
I find it difficult to believe that the WNBA can’t find the money for this. This seems more like a lack of creativity and strategy. The fact that players don’t buy what the WNBA is selling was all over the statements from some of them on Saturday, as well as Griner’s agent.
The Women’s National Basketball Players Association said in a statement after the incident that “every commercial flight forced upon our players is a threat to their health and safety.” The union added: “What BG and all of her PHX teammates experiences today was a calculated confrontation that left them feeling very unsafe. Everyone who was paying attention knew this would happen. We could have and should have been more proactive. … We implore the league and the teams to not wait another day to change the rule regarding travel.”
The reason I know the WNBA can do more is because they took a small step to protect players in April, likely in response to pressure from players and others to make travel more secure. They announced an increased charter program for this season that included charters for the postseason, the Commissioner’s Cup game and certain regular season games.
If they can do that, they can do even better.
The WNBA released a statement on Saturday: “Prior to the season, the WNBA worked together with the Phoenix Mercury and BG’s team to ensure her safety during her travel, which included charter flights for WNBA games and assigned security personnel with her at all times. We remain steadfastly committed to the highest standards of security for players.”
Those are just words. Let’s see more action because the harassment of Griner and other WNBA players by a future buffoon is as predictable as what we just saw.
