A disagreement on the basketball court led to the ejection of Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner after getting into a tussle with Los Angeles Sparks forward Rickea Jackson, who was also thrown out of the contest between the WNBA teams.
According to the New York Post, the two combatants got tangled up during a play seconds before halftime when the two basketball players were standing while Griner’s teammate, Celeste Taylor, was shooting at the free throw line. There were 18.1 seconds left in the second quarter when it appeared that Griner threw an elbow to the face of Jackson, who is playing her first year in the league.
After Taylor made the free throw, the players were having words with each other. Griner raised her arm, and Jackson pushed Griner’s arm away. Griner took a fighting stance
while Jackson raised her fists defensively as teammates and other people on the court tried to break up the two women. A security guard approached Griner, and a referee pulled Jackson away from her adversary.No punches were landed, but both players were given double technicals, which led to automatic ejections for Griner and Jackson.
Griner led her team with 14 points and three rebounds before the skirmish, while Jackson had already scored eight points. The Mercury were losing to the Sparks as they took a 44-36 lead at halftime. Griner’s team fended off the Sparks with an 85-81 win.
The incident took place as the WNBA season winds down.
The next game for the seventh-seeded Mercury (19-20) will be against the fifth-seeded Storm (24-15) when the two teams meet in Phoenix on Sept. 19. That signifies the last regular season game for both teams. The Sparks, who will miss the playoffs with a 7-32 record, will play their last game against the Minnesota Lynx (30-9) at their home court.
The Mercury is scheduled to play the Lynx in the first round on Sept. 22.
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