Brittney Griner’s Atlanta Dream faced off against Caitlin Clark’s Indiana Fever in late May, with the Dream ultimately winning 81-76.
Atlanta center Brittney Griner, in her first season with the WNBA club, had five fouls when she re-entered the game with four minutes remaining and the Fever leading by three. She was soon called for her sixth foul on what one Peachtree TV announcer called a “ticky-tack” foul on Fever forward Natasha Howard. The center appeared visibly frustrated as she huddled with her teammates on the floor before leaving the game.
Griner returned to the bench, where cameras caught her talking in frustration, although there was no audio. It appeared that she said “f*cking trash” before saying something that certain people interpreted as “f*cking white girl.” The presumption among those people was that Griner was referring to Clark, which didn’t make much sense as she was not involved with the offending play.
The clip of Griner speaking on the bench, lacking any context, spread on social media and went viral via several conservative-leaning media outlets and personalities. In a back-and-forth with Fox-owned OutKick’s Riley Gaines, Jemele Hill said that she thought Griner had said “f*cking wack call,” which would make a lot more sense given the context.
However, that didn’t satisfy conservative outlets who smelled blood. Being able to prove that Griner, who was already disliked in those circles due to the saga surrounding her Russian detainment, had said something offensive about Clark, whom they had turned into an avatar of white grievance, seemed like a content goldmine.
Fox-owned OutKick has been leading the charge on this topic in the weeks since. The site finally got its opportunity Sunday when reporter Dan Zaksheske had the chance to speak with Griner before the Dream’s 89-56 win over the Washington Mystics.
Griner told the reporter that she remembered the play where she fouled out but couldn’t remember what she said on the bench afterward.
“I remember fouling out, being mad,” Griner said. “I really can’t remember what I said, honestly.”
Zaksheske offered Griner the chance to see the video, but she told him that it wouldn’t help her decipher it.
After the game, he caught up with the Dream’s star center once more and asked more specifically if she might have said ‘f-ing white girls’ at that moment.
“No,” responded Griner. “Would never say that. Like, there’s no place for that in our league. I wouldn’t say that. I was mad about the call.
“I know it wasn’t that because I wouldn’t use that type of language.”
So there you go. Griner was adamant that she didn’t say what certain people think she said. That doesn’t align with the narrative that has been created about her, so it’s likely that her authentic response won’t change much in the eyes of those who seek a different answer.