OFF THE WALL

We just couldn’t let this stuff go …

NBA: Griner, ’mates harassed at Dallas airport

Brittney Griner and her Phoenix Mercury teammates were confronted by a “provocateur” at a Dallas airport on Saturday, the WNBA said, as reported by The Associated Press.

The league said in a statement it was looking into the team’s run-in with a “social media figure” whose “actions were inappropriate and unfortunate.”

“The safety of Brittney Griner and all WNBA players is our top priority,” the league said, without specifying what exactly happened.

Griner and her supporters had lobbied for charter flights after she returned from detainment in Russia, saying the highly publicized case compromised her and others’ safety. The league granted Griner (pictured) permission to book her own charter flights to road games.

Mercury player Brianna Turner said in a tweet people at the airport followed the team with cameras “saying wild remarks.”

“Excessive harassment,” Turner tweeted. “Our team nervously huddled in a corner unsure how to move about. We demand better.”

A Twitter user posted a video that appears to show a part of the confrontation.

The WNBA has added charter flights for the playoffs this season, but only a handful of backto-back regular season games were scheduled for such flights.

WNBA teams have flown commercially during the regular season since the league’s inception in 1997. The league typically doesn’t allow teams to charter because it could create a competitive advantage for teams who can afford to pay for them.

“Prior to the season, the WNBA worked together with the Phoenix Mercury and BG’S team to ensure her safety during her travel, which included charter flights for WNBA games and assigned security personnel with her at all times,” the league’s statement reads. “We remain steadfastly committed to the highest standards of security for players.”

The WNBA players’ union issued a statement Saturday, saying the situation at the airport makes it “quite clear that the matter of charter travel is NOT a ‘competitive advantage’ issue.”

“What BG and all of her PHX teammates experienced today was a calculated confrontation that left them feeling very unsafe,” the WNBPA statement reads. “Everyone who was paying attention knew this would happen.”

Trivia question

On this date in 1990, Nolan Ryan threw his sixth of seven career no-hitters. How old was he when he threw his final no-no?

They said it

From Janice Hough of Leftcoastsportsbabe.com: “The Nevada Senate adjourned Thursday without voting on a financing bill $1.5 billion Las Vegas Strip stadium for the Oakland Athletics. The special legislative session will continue next week. Maybe $1.5 billion feels excessive when the city already has a minor league team? (The Las Vegas Aviators).”

Trivia answer

On May 1, 1991, Ryan was 44 years old when he threw his seventh no-hitter, striking out Roberto Alomar of Toronto for the final out, while pitching for the Texas Rangers. Ryan started 27 games that season, going 12-8 with a 2.91 ERA and striking out 203 hitters in 173 innings.