DALLAS — The Phoenix Mercury has announced they are reviewing an incident that happened Saturday at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.
In a statement from the WNBA, the incident involved player Brittney Griner. The Texas native was in North Texas with her team for her first game in her home state since she was released from Russian detainment in December.
There is no clear explanation on what happened, but the WNBA says the incident was "orchestrated" by a "provocateur" and the person's actions were "inappropriate and unfortunate."
DFW Airport confirmed with WFAA that there was an incident. According to the representative, police were called to a terminal, but they determined that no crime was committed, so no one was arrested.
The Phoenix Mercury issued a statement saying they are reviewing the incident.
"The health and well-being of our players and staff take every step within our power to protect player safety," the statement reads. "We are committed to our support of BG and advocating for all American hostages abroad. We will continue our support for marginalized communities and fighting the kind of hate that targeted us today. No one, regardless of identity, should ever fear for their safety. We will be coordinating with the WNBA on next steps."
Griner's agent Lindsay Kawaga Colas also issued a statement about the incident on Twitter:
"Brittney Griner and the [WNBA] players are leaders who inspire hope for a better, more inclusive and less divided America. 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 Phoenix Mercury were in town to play against the Dallas Wings for two games. Mercury lost both games, 79-84 on Wednesday and 77-90 on Friday.
In a postgame interview on Wednesday, Brittney Griner said she's "fighting a different fight now" and advocating for the release of other wrongfully detained Americans.
In the first quarter of the game, the Wings shared a video of Zack Shahin and his family. Shahin is an American who has been imprisoned in Dubai for 15 years. His family traveled from Houston to share his story.
After their win, Dallas Wings' Satou Sabally shared her thoughts on facing off with BG and having her back on the floor.
“It means a lot. I think that you cannot really grasp it in words how it really could have been if this would have continued," said Sabally. "And it's just really amazing that she can play. Last year, we played without her and it was just weird. Something was missing and now everything is back to normal."