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Tag: Phoenix Mercury

  • Brittney Griner, Mercury Teammates Confronted At Airport By ‘Provocateur,’ WNBA Says

    Brittney Griner, Mercury Teammates Confronted At Airport By ‘Provocateur,’ WNBA Says

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    DALLAS (AP) — Brittney Griner and her Phoenix Mercury teammates were confronted by a “provocateur” at a Dallas airport on Saturday.

    The WNBA said in a statement it was looking into the team’s run-in with a “social media figure” whose “actions were inappropriate and unfortunate.”

    “The safety of Brittney Griner and all WNBA players is our top priority,” the league said, without specifying what exactly happened.

    Before the season started, the league had discussed with Griner’s representatives and the Mercury security concerns when the All-Star center traveled for road games after she returned from detainment in Russia. The thought was that the highly publicized case compromised her and others’ safety. The league granted Griner permission to book her own charter flights.

    The WNBA added charter flights for the playoffs this season, but only a handful of back-to-back regular-season games were scheduled for such flights.

    WNBA teams have flown commercially during the regular season since the league’s inception in 1997. The league typically doesn’t allow teams to charter because it could create a competitive advantage for teams who can afford to pay for them.

    “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,” the league’s statement reads. “We remain steadfastly committed to the highest standards of security for players.”

    Mercury player Brianna Turner said in a tweet people at the airport followed the team with cameras “saying wild remarks.”

    “Excessive harassment,” Turner tweeted. “Our team nervously huddled in a corner unsure how to move about. We demand better.”

    A Twitter user posted a video that appears to show a part of the confrontation where the individual asks questions of Griner about “why she hates America?”

    The Bring Our Families Home Campaign, an advocacy group that works to bring home Americans who are held hostage or detained in foreign countries, issued a statement condemning the incident.

    “Accosting a recently returned hostage like this is unacceptable, and we urge social media companies to prohibit the monetization of any resulting content. Our Campaign stands with Brittney, her teammates, and the Phoenix Mercury,” the organization said.

    Griner has been warmly received by crowds at home in Phoenix and on the road. This past week, she played two games in her home state of Texas and the team was headed to Indianapolis to face the Fever on Sunday.

    ARLINGTON, TX – June 9: Brittney Griner #42 of the Phoenix Mercury grabs the rebound during the game against the Dallas Wings on June 9, 2023 at the College Park Center in Arlington, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2023 NBAE (Photos by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images)

    Michael Gonzales via Getty Images

    Still, Saturday’s incident left many calling for change in flights for the Mercury and teams around the league.

    Griner’s agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, said on social media, after the incident, that she feels that all teams need to charter flights.

    “Brittney Griner and the WNBA players are leaders who inspire hope for a better, more inclusive and less divided America,” Kagawa Colas said. “They are celebrated for the ways their activism inspires positive change. In doing that, they also become targets for hate, threats and violence. And today’s incident is a clear reminder of that. We cannot celebrate these women and their leadership without also protecting them. It’s past time for charters and enhanced security measures for all players.”

    The WNBA players’ union issued a statement Saturday, saying the situation at the airport makes it “quite clear that the matter of charter travel is NOT a ‘competitive advantage’ issue.”

    “What BG and all of her PHX teammates experienced today was a calculated confrontation that left them feeling very unsafe,” the WNBPA statement reads. “Everyone who was paying attention knew this would happen.”

    The Mercury released a statement saying the team will be working with the league on next steps.

    “We are committed to our support of BG and advocating for all American hostages abroad,” the team statement reads. “We will continue our support of marginalized communities and fighting the kind of hate that targeted us today. No one, regardless of identity, should ever fear for their safety.”

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  • Brittney Griner Makes Powerful Call To Fight For Detainees Overseas

    Brittney Griner Makes Powerful Call To Fight For Detainees Overseas

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    Griner, who was imprisoned for months on drug charges in Russia last year, made the powerful call alongside her wife Cherelle Griner in an appearance that made NBA icon Dwyane Wade emotional in the audience on Saturday.

    “It feels so good to be here, especially with my beautiful, amazing wife and with all of y’all here today,” the WNBA star said.

    “I want to thank everyone and let’s keep fighting to bring home every American still detained overseas.”

    Moments before the WNBA star’s address, Cherelle Griner thanked Black women and Black-led organizations “who fought so hard” for Griner’s release in December.

    The ceremony’s host Queen Latifah introduced Griner and her wife prior to their brief appearance and said she was “back here with us where she belongs.”

    She later hugged Latifah and bumped her first following the exchange.

    “I hope you’ll join me in writing to Paul Whelan and continuing to advocate for other Americans to be rescued and returned to their families,” she wrote on Instagram days before Christmas.

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  • Brittney Griner will return to the WNBA and the Phoenix Mercury

    Brittney Griner will return to the WNBA and the Phoenix Mercury

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    Brittney Griner, the WNBA star who was detained in Russia for nearly ten months, will be re-signing with the Phoenix Mercury for a one-year contract, a source confirmed to CBS News on Sunday.

    The 32-year-old spent nearly 300 days in Russia, after she was arrested for marijuana possession while traveling to the country to play basketball during the WNBA off-season. The Biden administration considered her detention and trial as politically motivated. Moscow released the athlete in a swap for convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. 

    After Griner’s release in December, she took to Instagram to say she intended to once again play for the Mercury, where she has been a center since 2013. She had been a free agent until her re-signing.

    “I intend to play basketball for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury this season, and in doing so, I look forward to being able to say ‘thank you’ to those of you who advocated, wrote, and posted for me in person soon,” Griner wrote at the time.

    Garner last played for the Mercury in 2021, when she helped the team make it to the WNBA finals.

    Diana Taurasi, the WNBA’s all-time leading scorer, has also re-signed with the Phoenix Mercury in a multiyear contract, the team announced on Saturday.

    A formal announcement of Griner’s re-signing is expected on Tuesday.

    C Mandler


    1630512655666.jpg

    C Mandler is a social media producer and trending topics writer for CBS News, focusing on American politics and LGBTQ+ issues.

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  • Brittney Griner To Return To WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury With 1-Year Contract

    Brittney Griner To Return To WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury With 1-Year Contract

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    Brittney Griner is headed back to the Phoenix Mercury.

    Griner, who was a free agent, re-signed with the Mercury on a one-year contract according to a person familiar with the deal. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity on Saturday because no announcement has been made.

    The 32-year-old Griner had said she would return to Phoenix in a social media post in December, after she returned home from her 10-month ordeal in Russia that included time in a Russian jail. Griner had been arrested at an airport just outside of Moscow on drug possession charges a year ago and was brought home in a dramatic high-level prisoner exchange in December.

    The 6-foot-9 center last played for the Mercury in 2021 and helped the team reach the WNBA Finals. She averaged 20.5 points and 9.5 rebounds that season.

    The website “Her Hoops Stats” was the first to report Griner’s signing.

    Griner, who was drafted No. 1 in 2013 by the Mercury, was listed Saturday on Phoenix’s roster on the WNBA website.

    Since returning home from Russia, Griner has been out of the public spotlight, with the exception of appearances at the Super Bowl, the Phoenix Open and an MLK Day event in Phoenix, where she lives.

    She skipped a USA Basketball training camp earlier this month, but the organization made it clear she could take all the time she needed to decide if she wanted to play for the U.S. again.

    The WNBA has said it will address getting Griner special travel accommodations, such as charter flights, after she signed.

    “We are very cognizant of BG’s unique situation,” WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert told the AP earlier this month. “We’ve been planning and we’ve been thinking it through with security experts, BG’s side, our side. We’ll find the right time to comment on it when she signs with a team.”

    Earlier Saturday, the Mercury signed Diana Taurasi to a multiyear contract. The WNBA’s all-time leading scorer has only played with the Mercury since being drafted No. 1 by the team in 2004.

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  • Brittney Griner signs one-year deal with Phoenix Mercury, according to reports | CNN

    Brittney Griner signs one-year deal with Phoenix Mercury, according to reports | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    After spending nearly 10 months imprisoned in Russia, WNBA star Brittney Griner is making her return to basketball in the upcoming season, signing a one-year deal with the Phoenix Mercury, according to ESPN and The Athletic, who cited multiple unnamed sources.

    The two-time Olympic gold medalist was released in December – after spending nearly 300 days in Russian custody – in a prisoner exchange with Russia.

    And as soon as she was back home, she vowed to play in the WNBA again.

    “It feels so good to be home! The last 10 months have been a battle at every turn,” she wrote in a December post on Instagram. “I dug deep to keep my faith and it was the love from so many of you that helped keep me going. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone for your help.”

    “I also want to make one thing very clear: I intend to play basketball for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury this season, and in doing so, I look forward to being able to say ‘thank you’ to those of you who advocated, wrote, and posted for me in person soon,” Griner said.

    Griner – who for years had played in the WNBA off-season for a Russian women’s basketball team – was arrested on drug smuggling charges at an airport in the Moscow region in February 2022. Her detention, which became an international cause during a tense time in relations between the US and Russia, was deemed wrongful by American officials.

    And despite her testimony that she had inadvertently packed the cannabis oil that was found in her luggage, she was sentenced to nine years in prison in early August and was moved to a penal colony in the Mordovia republic in mid-November after losing her appeal.

    The 32-year-old last played with the Mercury in 2021, helping lead the team to the WNBA Finals, which they lost to the Chicago Sky.

    Before that, the seven-time All-Star had played all nine seasons with the franchise since being selected with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft.

    Phoenix are scheduled to open the season on the road against the Los Angeles Sparks on May 19. The team will play their first home game against the Sky on May 21.

    CNN has reached out to Griner’s representatives and the Phoenix Mercury but did not immediately hear back.

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  • Robert Sarver agrees to sell Phoenix Suns and Mercury to Mat Ishbia for $4 billion

    Robert Sarver agrees to sell Phoenix Suns and Mercury to Mat Ishbia for $4 billion

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    Mortgage executive Mat Ishbia has agreed in principle to buy a majority stake of the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury from the embattled owner Robert Sarver for $4 billion, the sides announced Tuesday.

    The sale is expected to take several weeks to complete. Ishbia — who is chairman, president and chief executive of United Wholesale Mortgage, which bills itself as the nation’s largest mortgage lender — will be subjected to a vetting process by the NBA, and once that is complete, the league’s board of governors will have to approve the sale.

    The board isn’t scheduled to meet until March, though it could convene virtually if the vetting process is completed beforehand.

    Forbes recently listed Ishbia’s net worth at $5.1 billion. Ishbia is a former Michigan State player under coach Tom Izzo, and was a member of the Spartans’ NCAA championship team in 2000.

    Mat Ishbia
    FILE — Former Michigan State player Mat Ishbia laughs as he are introduced along with Michigan State’s 2000 national championship NCAA college basketball team during halftime of the Michigan State-Florida game in East Lansing, Michigan. 

    Al Goldis / AP


    “I am extremely excited to be the next Governor of the Phoenix Suns and Mercury,” Ishbia said in a statement Tuesday night. “Both teams have an incredibly dynamic fan base and I have loved experiencing the energy of the Valley over the last few months.

    “Basketball is at the core of my life, from my high school days as a player to the honor of playing for Coach Izzo and winning a national title at Michigan State University. I’ve spent the last two decades building my mortgage business, United Wholesale Mortgage, into the number one mortgage lender in America and I’m confident that we can bring that same level of success to these great organizations on and off the floor.”

    If the sale closes at $4 billion, it would be the largest purchase in NBA history. Joe Tsai bought the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center for $3.3 billion in 2019, and Tilman Fertitta purchased the Houston Rockets for $2.2 billion in 2017.

    The only other NBA franchise known to be sold for $2 billion or more was the Los Angeles Clippers to Steve Ballmer in 2014.

    “I had a great call with fellow Spartan Mat Ishbia congratulating him on his purchase of the Phoenix Suns,” Magic Johnson, another Michigan State alum, tweeted Tuesday. “He’s going to do great things not only for the Suns organization, but for the entire league. All of the other 29 NBA teams better watch out because Mat’s a winner!”

    Justin Ishbia, Mat’s brother, also will be part of the ownership group, pending approval. Mat Ishbia will be the team’s governor, Justin the alternate governor.

    Suns coach Monty Williams said he didn’t want to comment until the move is official.

    “Google-searching people and trying to make assessments about who they are, I think that’s dangerous,” Williams said. “People have done that with me and I just kind of laugh.”

    Ishbia’s company is built around team aspects, and he often speaks of the lessons he learned while playing for Tom Izzo and with Mateen Cleaves at Michigan State. His company even has an intramural basketball program with an on-site full-court gym.

    “This is not that complicated,” Ishbia recently told HBO’s “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” for a profile, discussing his strategy with people. “Get the best people to join your team, just like in sports. Train them, coach them to be the best version of themselves, like Izzo used to do with us. And then treat them so well that they never want to leave.”

    The NBA suspended Sarver in September for one year, plus fined him $10 million, after an investigation found he had engaged in what the league called “workplace misconduct and organizational deficiencies.”

    The punishment came nearly a year after the NBA asked a law firm to investigate allegations that Sarver had a history of racist, misogynistic and hostile incidents over his nearly two-decade tenure overseeing the franchise.

    Shortly afterward, Sarver announced he would be looking to sell the Suns and the Mercury.

    Sarver bought the Suns in 2004 for $401 million — then an NBA record, and roughly 10 times less than the price Ishbia agreed to pay.

    “Mat is the right leader to build on franchise legacies of winning and community support and shepherd the Suns and Mercury into the next era,” Sarver said. “As a former collegiate basketball player and national champion, Mat has exactly the right spirit, commitment and resources to pursue championships.”

    Ishbia has been mentioned before as a possible buyer of pro franchises, and he is a prominent Michigan State donor. He helped fund the $95 million deal that the Spartans gave football coach Mel Tucker last year. He played in 48 games for Izzo during his time as a walk-on guard in East Lansing.

    Ishbia in November confirmed to The Associated Press his interest in buying the NFL’s Washington Commanders after owners Dan and Tanya Snyder hired a firm to explore potential transactions. It was not immediately clear if buying the Suns would take him out of the process with the Commanders.

    “This is a dream come true for my entire family including my parents, my three children, and my brother Justin, who will be making a significant investment with me and bring his incredible business acumen and shared passion for basketball,” Ishbia said. “I appreciate Robert Sarver’s time and support throughout the process. We are so honored to be, with approval by the NBA, the next stewards of the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury.”

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  • Brittney Griner is back home and she intends to play basketball this season | CNN

    Brittney Griner is back home and she intends to play basketball this season | CNN

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    CNN
     — 

    Brittney Griner departed a medical military facility in Texas on Friday and returned home, and she intends to play basketball for her team this season, according to her Instagram feed.

    For the two-time Olympic gold medalist, who was released last week in a prisoner swap after nearly 300 days in Russian custody, the day marks another step in her reintegration into American life.

    “It feels so good to be home! The last 10 months have been a battle at every turn,” she said in an Instagram post. “I dug deep to keep my faith and it was the love from so many of you that helped keep me going. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone for your help.”

    Griner said she was “grateful to each person who advocated for me” and she mentioned Paul Whelan, whose release could not be secured in the prisoner swap that brought her home.

    “President Biden, you brought me home and I know you are committed to bringing Paul Whelan and all Americans home too,” she said. “I will use my platform to do whatever I can to help you. I also encourage everyone that played a part in bringing me home to continue their efforts to bring all Americans home. Every family deserves to be whole.”

    Griner took off from Kelly Field in San Antonio around 11 a.m. on Friday, CNN confirmed via her agent Lindsay Kagawa Colas.

    As she boarded the plane, Griner was greeted by Phoenix Mercury GM Jim Pitman, Vince Kozar president of the Phoenix Mercury and her Mercury teammate Diana Taurasi, all of whom made a surprise appearance to welcome her home.

    Griner is heading back to Arizona, though her representatives would not confirm exactly where, citing security concerns. CNN previously reported that Griner and her wife, Cherelle, had already made plans to move upon her return to the United States.

    “I also want to make one thing very clear: I intend to play basketball for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury this season, and in doing so, I look forward to being able to say ‘thank you’ to those of you who advocated, wrote, and posted for me in person soon,” Griner said.

    Griner’s detention, after Russian officials found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage, became an international cause during a delicate time in relations between Washington and Moscow. US officials deemed it a wrongful detention.

    She had traveled to Russia to play basketball in the WNBA offseason and was arrested on drug smuggling charges at an airport in the Moscow region.

    Despite her testimony that she had inadvertently packed the cannabis oil in her luggage, Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison in early August and was moved to a penal colony in the Mordovia republic in mid-November after losing her appeal.

    The Phoenix Mercury center became a pawn in Russia’s war in Ukraine and returned to the US on December 9 after a prisoner swap for notorious convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

    Griner stayed at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio for a week for routine evaluation. She has been staying with her wife, Cherelle Griner, in a residential facility on the base. Her arrest and conviction brought attention to the plight of other Americans in Russian custody, including Whelan and Trevor Reed, who returned to the US in April after a nearly three-year ordeal.

    This is a developing story and will be updated.

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  • Brittney Griner Released From Russian Prison In Swap For Convicted Arms Dealer

    Brittney Griner Released From Russian Prison In Swap For Convicted Arms Dealer

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    Phoenix Mercury center and WNBA All-Star Brittney Griner has been released from a Russian penal colony and is in United States custody after a prisoner exchange for arms dealer Viktor Bout. What do you think?

    “If Biden’s just going to negotiate their release, what’s to stop everyone from going to Russian prison?”

    Mauricio Huggins, Gift Specialist

    “Good. America’s prisons shouldn’t be squandered on non-American criminals.”

    Liam Wheeler, Butter Smoother

    “It’s not our fault none of their shitty players were worth capturing.”

    Teresa Bauer, Coffee Wafter

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  • Russian court sets Brittney Griner appeal date for Oct. 25

    Russian court sets Brittney Griner appeal date for Oct. 25

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    MOSCOW — A Russian court on Monday set Oct. 25 as the date for American basketball star Brittney Griner’s appeal against her nine-year prison sentence for drug possession.

    Griner, an eight-time all-star center with the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury and a two-time Olympic gold medalist, was convicted Aug. 4 after police said they found vape canisters containing cannabis oil in her luggage at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport.

    The Moscow region court said it will hear her appeal.

    Griner admitted that she had the canisters in her luggage, but testified that she had inadvertently packed them in haste and that she had no criminal intent. Her defense team presented written statements that she had been prescribed cannabis to treat pain.

    Her February arrest came at a time of heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington, just days before Russia sent troops into Ukraine. At the time, Griner, recognized as one of the greatest players in WNBA history, was returning to Russia, where she played during the U.S. league’s offseason.

    The nine-year sentence was close to the maximum of 10 years, and Griner’s lawyers argued after the conviction that the punishment was excessive. They said in similar cases defendants have received an average sentence of about five years, with about a third of them granted parole.

    Before her conviction, the U.S. State Department declared Griner to be “wrongfully detained” — a charge that Russia has sharply rejected.

    Reflecting the growing pressure on the Biden administration to do more to bring Griner home, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken took the unusual step of revealing publicly in July that Washington had made a “substantial proposal” to get Griner home, along with Paul Whelan, an American serving a 16-year sentence in Russia for espionage.

    Blinken didn’t elaborate, but The Associated Press and other news organizations have reported that Washington has offered to exchange Griner and Whelan for Viktor Bout, a Russian arms dealer who is serving a 25-year sentence in the U.S. and once earned the nickname the “merchant of death.”

    The White House said it has not yet received a productive response from Russia to the offer.

    Russian diplomats have refused to comment on the U.S. proposal and urged Washington to discuss the matter in confidential talks, avoiding public statements.

    U.S. President Joe Biden met last month with Cherelle Griner, the wife of Brittney Griner, as well as the player’s agent, Lindsay Colas. Biden also sat down separately with Elizabeth Whelan, Paul Whelan’s sister.

    The White House said after the meetings that the president stressed to the families his “continued commitment to working through all available avenues to bring Brittney and Paul home safely.”

    The Biden administration carried out a prisoner swap in April, with Moscow releasing Marine veteran Trevor Reed in exchange for the U.S. releasing a Russian pilot, Konstantin Yaroshenko, convicted in a drug trafficking conspiracy.

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