Phoenix Mercury coach confirms 'travel adjustments' after Brittney Griner-YouTuber incident

Phoenix Mercury coach Vanessa Nygaard spoke to the media before the team's matchup against the Indiana Fever following the incident concerning Brittney Griner last Saturday.

Nygaard said:

"We will ensure that our players and our organization and our staff are safe. We will be making [travel] adjustments that maybe should have happened before, but right now we’re going to prioritize the safety of our players and we’ve seen that the organization has supported us."

Last Saturday, as Brittney Griner was making her way through Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, Alex Stein from Blaze Media confronted the Phoenix Mercury star. After a two-game stretch in Dallas, Stein called out Griner regarding the comments she made during the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020.

At the time, Brittney Griner called out the WNBA to remove the national anthem during games because she was critical of the police's actions toward the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd.

However, Brittney Griner was detained at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow on February 17, 2022, when customs discovered oil derived from cannabis in her luggage. Griner received a 10-year sentence. Her situation looked bleak, but the United States government pulled some strings.

On December 8, 2022, Griner was set free in a prisoner swap for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

During the altercation between Stein and Griner at the Dallas Airport last Saturday, the YouTube personality made the following comments to the Phoenix Mercury star:

"Do you still wanna boycott America Britt?. She hates America. What about the merchant of death?"

Stein uploaded the video on Twitter, which was met with online backlash.

The incident didn't affect Brittney Griner's performance during the matchup against the Indiana Fever. She dropped 29 points (9-of-13 shooting) and six rebounds.

Brittney Griner's Phoenix Mercury teammate Diana Taurasi comments on the Dallas airport incident

Diana Taurasi spoke to ESPN's M.A. Voepel and expressed support for her teammate after last Saturday's altercation:

"The safety of everyone comes first. People have families, kids, to be put in that situation really is disrespectful, not only to [Brittney Griner], but to our team, to the league. Hopefully, they can take steps to make sure that the security of our players throughout the league is at the forefront."

As the incident continues to be investigated by the Phoenix Mercury organization and the WNBA, the altercation calls for an immediate solution and assurance. There should be a heightened level of security for WNBA players moving forward as they should not easily be approached for verbal harassment in public.