Brittney Griner was at the center of a fight during the Dallas Wings’ 80-77 win over the Phoenix Mercury at Talking Stick Resort Arena on Saturday.
The Mercury center threw punches at Dallas rookie Kristine Anigwe, who resorted to running from Griner. Though Griner tried to chase Anigwe down the court, an official met and stopped Griner to break up the fight. The scuffling continued when players jumped off the bench to back up their teammates. The fight came after a particularly contentious point, where Anigwe and Giner seemed to tangle arms and yank at each other after the whistle.
Griner and Anigwe were among six players ejected for the fourth-quarter incident following a video review. The Mercury’s Diana Taurasi and Briann January and the Wings’ Kayla Thornton and Kaela Davis were also sent off the court.
Griner did not speak after the game, but Turasi, who was ejected for leaving the bench, addressed reporters.
“Today I went on the court to make sure my teammate didn’t get jumped,” Taurasi said after the game, via The Arizona Republic. “(Griner) got punched in the face and then someone ran on her back and threw punches at her face. I would do that 100 times out of 100 times.”
It’s unclear how the WNBA will punish those involved in the fight.
