Former NBA player and coach Mark Jackson thinks it’s high time for the Women’s National Basketball League to pay their star players more money in lieu of the horrible Brittney Griner saga.
Jackson spoke with TMZ. The former Golden State Warriors coach said while he doesn’t agree with taking money from the NBA to more equitably fund WNBA salaries, he does think women players are entitled to more money in the United States to ensure they don’t need to play overseas to live comfortably.
“I think we need to pay women more money, obviously. They certainly deserve it. Their talent level certainly demands it. I’m pulling for them to get every dollar they deserve, and [I am] more than willing to do whatever we have to do to make that a possibility.”
Brittney Griner, like a lot of professional women’s basketball players, supplements her WNBA income by playing overseas in the offseason. Griner was with her Russian Premier League team when she attempted to bring a small amount of medical hashish oil aboard a flight, which kicked off her entire ordeal.
“I think we have to be more aware of where we’re going,” Jackson told TMZ. “Even from President [Joe] Biden’s speech about Brittany… he said exactly that.”
President Biden made the controversial decision to free Griner in a prisoner swap with the Russian government for convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout. The WNBA paid Griner’s entire salary while incarcerated.
Griner is currently relaxing on a military base with her wife. She has pledged to aid all wrongly incarcerated Americans, including former United States Marine Paul Whelan.
[TMZ]