Brittney Griner: WNBA Should've Allowed Other Travel Options Before Airport Exchange

Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner says the WNBA should have changed its travel policy well before she was harassed at an airport while flying commercially earlier this month.

Griner said Monday, via ESPN's M.A. Voepel:

"'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' gonna be. 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."

"So I'm glad that they finally got it together -- and, you know, are gonna allow us to do this. It's just a shame that it took so damn long, honestly."

Griner, who was detained in Russia in February 2022 before being exchanged in a prisoner swap between the United States and Russia in December, was harassed by a YouTube personality at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport on June 10.

The harassment reopened the conversation about how WNBA players travel for games.

WNBA teams typically fly commercial because it's cheaper, but the league is allowing teams to use a public chartering service called JSX for select flights this season, according to ESPN's Alexa Philippou.

Chartered flights are allowed for games played on back-to-back days and playoff games, according to Philippou.

Griner, however, was approved to use charter flights all season for her safety, sources told ESPN on June 16. The WNBA and the Mercury "collaborated on a travel plan to best protect Griner" prior to the 2023 campaign, Voepel added.

WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert also said on ESPN's Outside the Lines that the Mercury were allowed to do anything they wanted in terms of Griner's travel because of the "unique situation" they are in.

WNBA teams have long been advocating for the use of charter flights for games, which are standard for the major men's professional sports leagues in North America, including the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB.

It's unclear when or if the league will make the switch to allowing players to use charter flights for every game, but what it has implemented thus far is at least a start.