{"id":1986814,"date":"2023-07-31T13:16:01","date_gmt":"2023-07-31T17:16:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wnba-update-brittney-griner-takes-mental-health-break-as-team-struggles-to-avoid-last-place\/"},"modified":"2023-07-31T13:17:48","modified_gmt":"2023-07-31T17:17:48","slug":"wnba-update-brittney-griner-takes-mental-health-break-as-team-struggles-to-avoid-last-place","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wnba-update-brittney-griner-takes-mental-health-break-as-team-struggles-to-avoid-last-place\/","title":{"rendered":"WNBA Update: Griner&#8217;s &#8216;Mental Health&#8217; Break Amid Team&#8217;s Last Place Struggle"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwnba-update-brittney-griner-takes-mental-health-break-as-team-struggles-to-avoid-last-place%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1986814&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div>\n<blockquote>\n<h2>Convicted Drug Smuggler \u200dTravels to Games on Private Jets\u200b for Safety<\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n<figure><figcaption>\n<h3>Brittney Griner (center) \/ Getty Images<\/h3>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>What&#8217;s happening<\/strong>: \u2062Brittney \u200bGriner, the WNBA\u2062 employee\u2062 and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hollywood-celebs-rage-in-defeat-after-barrett-confirmation-revolting-disgraceful-unconscionable\/\" title=\"Hollywood Celebs Rage in Defeat After Barrett Confirmation: 'Revolting. Disgraceful. Unconscionable'\">left-wing activist<\/a> \u2062who spent\u200c 10 months\u200c in a Russian prison for \u200c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ariz-rep-biggs-blasts-biden-for-halting-border-wall-construction\/\" title=\"Ariz. Rep. Biggs blasts Biden for halting border wall construction\">drug smuggling<\/a>, \u200dis taking time off from her job for &#8220;mental health&#8221; reasons.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 The Phoenix Mercury\u200b <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/wnba\/mercury\/2023\/07\/29\/brittney-griner-not-with-mercury-focus-mental-health\/70493011007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">announced<\/a> Saturday that \u2062Griner would\u2063 miss at least two games in order to &#8220;focus on her\u2062 mental health.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why it matters<\/strong>: Griner&#8217;s absence could not come at a\u200b worse time\u200d for the \u200dMercury, who have accumulated an abysmal 6-18 record on \u200dthe season.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 A loss to\u2064 the Indiana Fever on Tuesday would put them in a tie for last place.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Crucial context<\/strong>: Griner \u200cis hardly the first\u2063 professional \u200bathlete to take time off for &#8220;mental health.&#8221; Naomi\u200d Osaka, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wnba-update-brittney-griner-takes-mental-health-break-as-team-struggles-to-avoid-last-place\/\" title=\"WNBA Update: Griner's 'Mental Health' Break Amid Team's Last Place Struggle\">mediocre tennis player<\/a> who\u2064 <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/politics\/naomi-osaka-french-open\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">renounced<\/a> \u200dher American citizenship, has \u2063withdrawn from\u200c tournaments and \u2063refused to\u200c answer questions from journalists in\u200c the interest of\u2062 &#8220;self-care.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Reports\u200c indicate Griner was\u200d recently granted permission\u200b to <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/brittney-griner-reportedly-allowed-to-fly-in-private-planes-after-harassment-at-dallas-airport-015354279.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">travel<\/a> to and from WNBA \u2062games by private jet for \u200c&#8221;safety&#8221; \u2064reasons while the\u2064 rest of her \u200dteam flies commercial.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Some players have <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/culture\/wnba-player-demands-private-jets-for-entire-league\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">demanded<\/a> the WNBA subsidize private air travel\u2063 for the entire league. It \u2063is unclear how the WNBA, \u200dwhich loses\u2063 $10 million annually and is subsidized by the extremely \u200dprofitable NBA, could afford the projected annual cost\u200d of $30 million.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 The Biden administration \u2064secured Griner&#8217;s release from Russian prison in <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/a-shameful-prisoner-swap\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">exchange<\/a> for Viktor Bout, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-merchant-of-death-for-griner-and-whelan-why-the-russian-prisoner-swap-is-a-risky-deal\/\" title=\"\u2018The Merchant Of Death\u2019 For Griner And Whelan: Why The Russian Prisoner Swap Is A Risky Deal\">convicted arms smuggler<\/a> \u200cknown \u2062as &#8220;The\u2062 Merchant of Death.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/biden-administration\/a-shameful-prisoner-swap\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">READ MORE: A Shameful Prisoner Swap<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Convicted drug smuggler Brittney Griner, now a WNBA employee, is opting for private jets to ensure her safety while traveling to games. Taking a break from work for &#8220;mental health&#8221; reasons, Griner, a left-wing activist, previously served 10 months in a Russian prison for drug smuggling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":97,"featured_media":1986815,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1986814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1986814","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/97"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1986814"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1986814\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1986815"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1986814"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1986814"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1986814"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}