The WNBA announced today that Mercury center Brittney Griner and Tulsa forward Glory Johnson will each be suspended for seven games without pay as a result of their domestic violence arrest last month following a fight at their home in Goodyear.
Both players were arrested on misdemeanor charges of assault and disorderly conduct after an argument at their home turned physical. Griner has pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct and entered a 26-week domestic violence counseling program; the assault charge was dropped. Johnson pleaded not guilty, and her case is still pending.
Griner and Johnson were married last week at a ceremony in Phoenix.
WNBA president Laurel J. Richie announced the suspensions Friday in a statement, saying that the league conducted a three-week investigation and determined that Griner and Johnson failed to uphold the league's standards of conduct.
"The WNBA takes all acts of violence extremely seriously," Richie said in her statement. "It is our strong belief that violence has absolutely no place in society, in sports or in this league."
Richie said the league's investigation indicated that the confrontation began when Johnson pushed Griner in the shoulder and Griner then pushed Johnson in the back of the neck. It escalated to include "wrestling, punches and the throwing and swinging of various objects."
"Brittney and Glory's conduct is detrimental to the best interests of the WNBA and violates applicable law," Richie's statement said. "We also understand that people make mistakes, and that education and training are as important as imposing discipline. Accordingly, each player will be required to attend individual counseling sessions with a counselor satisfactory to the WNBA. If either player fails to comply with this condition or any of the conditions imposed by the court, we reserve the right to revisit this matter."
Richie went on to say that the WNBA will conduct domestic violence education sessions with all players and team personnel throughout the season: "We recognize that our league has an obligation and an opportunity to set an example for people around the world, and we will continue doing everything we can to ensure that situations such as this do not happen again."
