One day after the WNBA team's center got harassed by a 'provocateur,' head coach Vanessa Nygaard assures that their players, organization and staff are safe.
- Jun 12, 2023
AceShowbiz - Phoenix Mercury had been forced to make travel adjustments. One day after one of its team members Brittney Griner got harassed at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, head coach Vanessa Nygaard assured that the WNBA team's players, organization and staff are safe.
Ahead of Mercury's game against the Indiana Fever that was held on Sunday, June 11, head coach Vanessa let out a statement in response to the incident. She said, "League rules mandate that I can't speak about travel, but I can speak about safety, so we will ensure that our players and our organization and our staff are safe."
The head coach went on to explain, "We will be making adjustments that maybe should've happened before, but right now, we're going to prioritize the safety of our players, and we've seen that our organization has supported us."
Vanessa has also shared her thoughts on Brittney's harassment. She stated, "No one should be a victim of targeted harassment. I'm grateful that our team and our staff are physically well and most of all I'm grateful that BG has been back here in the United States for 185 days now. If her being home makes some people mad, I think that obviously says more about them than it does about her."
Aside from Vanessa, Mercury's players have also voiced their thoughts on the incident. Diana Taurasi stated, "It's unnerving to be in a situation like that and unfortunately, it was literally the first time we were in public together. That can't happen for our players or coaches. The safety of everyone comes first; basketball is secondary to all that."
"People have families, kids and to be put in that situation really is pretty disrespectful not only to BG but to our team, to the league," she continued. "So hopefully they can take steps into making sure the security of our players throughout the league is at the forefront."
Another player Breanna Stewart declared, "That's obviously nothing no one wants to deal with, especially on a business trip for work. We're representing the league, we're representing the city of Phoenix, our organization and in times like that we don't want to cause a big scene. We don't want to like throw phones or say some things."
On Saturday, June 10, Phoenix Mercury was at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport when YouTuber Alex Stein confronted Brittney. At that time, he could be heard asking the player, "Do you still want to boycott America?" After being called weird by one of Brittney's teammates, he stated, "Why am I weird? She hates America."
