Brittney Griner calls out American Airlines over baggage melee

Newly signed Atlanta Dream star Brittney Griner called out American Airlines on Wednesday for an alleged baggage melee and employee conduct. Griner posted on Threads to share her experience and publicly file a complaint with the airlines.

“Hey American Airlines, could you plz help your employees understand the rules for bags on a flight! Also just because you yell sir in my face loud as f*** doesnt make you right! Thank you 😊,” Griner wrote.

Brittney Griner signed a one-year deal with the Atlanta Dream during the WNBA free agency earlier this month. The move comes after the 6-foot-9 center spent the first 11 years of her career with the Phoenix Mercury, earning a championship and 10 All-Star selections.

“I Stick With It”: Brittney Griner speaks out on 1-year deal with Atlanta Dream

A reason for Brittney Griner to switch teams may have been to position herself for a better deal when the WNBA’s new collective bargaining agreement is expected to take effect next year. However, during her introduction to the team on Tuesday, Griner shared that the move was based on more than that.

“I’ll just say this with the CBA, you know, a lot of people signed one-year deals,” Griner said. “It’s more than just money. I don’t want people to think that everybody signed a one-year deal just because they’re money crazy. There’s a lot of other important things that are going to be in our CBA in that, you know, people are going to want to be eligible for.

“I’ll just say this, my track record is when I make a decision I stick with it. I’ll just leave it at that right there.”

Griner announced her move to Atlanta in an Instagram post featuring a video of her with her new teammates on a fishing trip. In the video, she spoke of the difficulty of her decision to leave the Mercury while also expressing excitement for her new chapter with the Dream.

“It was a hard decision … leaving what I’ve known for my whole career. But there’s also the exciting factor of like ‘OK, this is a rebrand now, I get to show them something different,'” Griner said. “I was able to find where I wanted to go. And honestly what led me to that decision ultimately was the team, the players, as individuals, and then also my family.”

Brittney Griner’s addition to the Atlanta Dream’s roster is among the most notable free agent signings in their franchise history. The Dream will look to make the most of the former WNBA champion’s availability for the 2025 WNBA season.

Griner concluded the 2024 WNBA season averaging 17.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 1.5 blocks in the regular season while shooting 57.9% from the field, including 50.0% from beyond the arc.

Edited by R. Elahi