Griner clears the air with Anigwe
Mercury star had fight with Desert Vista grad
Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner said she and Kristine Anigwe have resolved any lingering issues from an on-court fight last season and expects no further problems between them.
Anigwe, who is from Phoenix, is now with the Los Angeles Sparks. The Mercury and Sparks play in Saturday when the WNBA opens its bubble season in Bradenton, Florida, and again on Aug. 19.
“We’re good,” Griner said during a teleconference Sunday. “We posted a photo together when we were in Phoenix (on an Instagram Story, online for just 24 hours).”
Griner said former Mercury forward Emma Cannon helped to bring the two together where they played basketball on the same team.
“We definitely talked. There’s no bad blood. Tempers fly, it’s the game. But everything is good,” Griner said.
Issues between Griner and Anigwe built up during Anigwe’s rookie season, first when she was with Connecticut then after she was traded to Dallas. During an Aug. 10 game in Phoenix, Anigwe took what we later described by the league as an “open-handed
swing at Griner,” resulting in punches being thrown by Griner, who chase Anigwe around the court.
Six players were suspended or fined for the incident including Griner for three games and Anigwe for two. Saturday’s game will be the first meeting between them since the fight.
The Sparks acquired Anigwe, who played at Phoenix Desert Vista High School, via trade in May. She was the ninth overall WNBA draft pick in 2019 after her college career at California.
Why Griner opted into bubble
Griner, second in WNBA most valuable player voting in 2019, said she decided at one point in the offseason not to play in the shortened season at IMG Academy but changed her mind after discussions with her wife Cherelle (Watson) Griner.
“Basketball is a big part of my life,” Griner, 29, said. “I’m not ready yet to give it up. We made a family decision. It was tough with all the unknowns. My wife had a great internship in Phoenix. She gave that up for me. My wife definitely helped me with that decision.”
Cherelle, who met Griner when both were attending Baylor, is in law school in Durham, N.C. She is planning to stay in the bubble for the entire WNBA season, which including playoffs until October, while taking classes online.
“I’m very thankful and very lucky she could do that for us,” Griner said. “It’s kind of working out perfect (with online classes) so she can stay.”
Half of Mercury roster likely would have been at Tokyo Olympics
If the WNBA season was playing out as originally scheduled before the coronavirus pandemic, the league currently would be in Olympic break (July 11-Aug. 15). The Tokyo Olympics were scheduled for July 24-Aug. 9 but now will be held July 23-Aug. 8, 2021.
Griner, Diana Taurasi, Skylar Diggins-Smith, Bria Hartley (France) and Alanna Smith (Australia) likely would have been Olympians this year. Mercury coach Sandy Brondello also is the Australian Olympic team coach.
“I’ve trying to focus on this year to be quite honest,” Brondello said. “I’m just very happy we’re having a season.”