WNBA Update: Griner’s ‘Mental Health’ Break Amid Team’s Last Place Struggle
Convicted Drug Smuggler Travels to Games on Private Jets for Safety
Brittney Griner (center) / Getty Images
What’s happening: Brittney Griner, the WNBA employee and left-wing activist who spent 10 months in a Russian prison for drug smuggling, is taking time off from her job for “mental health” reasons.
• The Phoenix Mercury announced Saturday that Griner would miss at least two games in order to “focus on her mental health.”
Why it matters: Griner’s absence could not come at a worse time for the Mercury, who have accumulated an abysmal 6-18 record on the season.
• A loss to the Indiana Fever on Tuesday would put them in a tie for last place.
Crucial context: Griner is hardly the first professional athlete to take time off for “mental health.” Naomi Osaka, the mediocre tennis player who renounced her American citizenship, has withdrawn from tournaments and refused to answer questions from journalists in the interest of “self-care.”
• Reports indicate Griner was recently granted permission to travel to and from WNBA games by private jet for ”safety” reasons while the rest of her team flies commercial.
• Some players have demanded the WNBA subsidize private air travel for the entire league. It is unclear how the WNBA, which loses $10 million annually and is subsidized by the extremely profitable NBA, could afford the projected annual cost of $30 million.
• The Biden administration secured Griner’s release from Russian prison in exchange for Viktor Bout, a convicted arms smuggler known as “The Merchant of Death.”
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