Brittney Griner - Travel situation hit 'rock bottom' before changes - ESPN

Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner said Monday she thought the travel situation with her and the Mercury got to «rock bottom» before it was adequately addressed by the WNBA.

Griner was speaking on a video call with media as the Mercury introduced interim coach Nikki Blue. She is replacing Vanessa Nygaard, who was fired Sunday after the Mercury's 2-10 start. Griner addressed the coaching change but also was asked about the team's travel.

That reopened two issues from earlier this month: why Griner was on a commercial flight on June 10, before which she was harassed by a YouTube personality at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport; and how she and the Mercury have traveled since then. Sources told ESPN on June 16 that in the wake of the incident, Griner had been approved to fly privately all year, which the league countered was already allowed. It's still unclear how the entire team is traveling the remainder of the season.

"'I'll say this. I think we should have already had the option to use a different airline, a more private airline, charter flights," Griner said, without specifying exactly what the Mercury are doing now. «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' going to 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 going to allow us to do this. It's just a shame that it took so damn long, honestly."

The Mercury's travel situation has been shrouded in secrecy, which both the WNBA and the Mercury say is