XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, alt.transgendered, sac.politics   
   XPost: talk.politics.guns   
   From: porch@apes.com   
      
   Rudy Canoza  wrote in   
   news:dtTfJ.10758$QB1.4434@fx42.iad:   
      
   > This is one nigger who deserves to be shot, cut into quarters and   
   > dragged behind semi trucks until the bones fall out of the chains.   
      
   Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner and her teammates were confronted   
   by a Blaze Media YouTube personality in Dallas-Fort Worth International   
   Airport on Saturday morning before flying to Indiana after the team played   
   twice in Arlington, Texas, this past week.   
      
   Alex Stein, a Dallas native who has gained some notoriety for confronting   
   politicians, posted a photograph on Twitter saying, "I just met my   
   favorite WNBA player. Video coming soon." Stein then also posted a brief   
   clip of him yelling at Griner as she walked through the airport.   
      
   The league said Saturday that Griner has been approved to fly charter for   
   WNBA games. It's unclear why she was not doing so Saturday.   
      
   "As we gather additional information about today's incident at the Dallas   
   airport, it has come to our attention that this was orchestrated by a   
   social media figure and provocateur. His actions were inappropriate and   
   unfortunate," the league said in a statement. "The safety of Brittney   
   Griner and all WNBA players is our top priority. 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. We remain   
   steadfastly committed to the highest standards of security for players."   
      
   Late Saturday afternoon, the Mercury also released a statement.   
      
   "We are reviewing the incident that took place today at the Dallas   
   airport. The health and well-being of our players and staff are our top   
   priority and we will always take every step within our power to protect   
   player safety.   
      
   "We are committed to our support of BG and advocating for all American   
   hostages abroad. We will continue our support of 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 teammate Brianna Turner said on social media about the incident:   
   "Player safety while traveling should be at the forefront. People   
   following with cameras saying wild remarks is never acceptable. Excessive   
   harassment. Our team nervously huddled in a corner unsure how to move   
   about. We demand better."   
      
   Griner is playing in the WNBA again this year after missing all of last   
   season. She was arrested at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport in February 2022   
   when she was returning to Russia to continue her overseas basketball   
   season there. Russian customs officials said they found vape canisters   
   with cannabis oil in her luggage, which she later acknowledged in court   
   while saying she had no criminal intent and had packed them in haste.   
      
   In August, Griner was sentenced to a nine-year prison term, but in   
   December was freed through a negotiated prisoner exchange between the   
   United States and Russian governments.   
      
   Griner has been warmly welcomed back by crowds at home in Phoenix and on   
   the road. This past week, she returned to her home state of Texas. The   
   Mercury fell to the Dallas Wings on Wednesday and Friday. They next play   
   Sunday against the Indiana Fever in Indianapolis.   
      
   For cost reasons, the WNBA primarily flies via commercial airlines, saying   
   the league as a whole cannot afford charter flights and that allowing some   
   of the 12 teams to do so would cause a competitive imbalance issue. The   
   league announced earlier this year that it will have charter flights for   
   all playoff games this season and certain regular-season games that are   
   played on back-to-back days requiring air travel.   
      
   Griner being approved by the league to charter for all games is an   
   exception because of the publicity surrounding her detainment and release.   
   However, her agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, said she thinks the entire   
   Mercury team and all teams need to charter flights.   
      
   "Brittney Griner and the WNBA players are leaders who inspire hope for a   
   better, more inclusive and less divided America," Kagawa Colas said via   
   social media. "They are celebrated for the ways their activism inspires   
   positive change. In doing that, they also become targets for hate, threats   
   and violence.   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)