Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner will be allowed to fly charter for the team's remaining road games, among other changes to travel plans according to ESPN's Josh Weinfuss.

The change comes after Griner was berated with questions from YouTube personality Alex Stein at a Dallas airport. The right-wing political host asked Griner repeatedly about her swap for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout to return to the United States and if she had sex with Russian president Vladimir Putin.

ESPN said Griner's ability to fly charter had not been available at the beginning of this season, though the WNBA has reportedly claimed it has given Griner the freedom to fly privately all year.

Griner's agent, Lindsey Kagawa Colas, told ESPN Griner is “fine” with the circumstances allowing her to fly charter. Weinfuss said the Mercury might be able to use JSX public charter flights for the entire team.

Brittney Griner returned to the United States in December after she was detained in Feb. 2022 holding vape cartridges that contained hashish oil. A criminal case was opened into her transportation of those drugs. Griner was in Russia to play for the women's basketball team UMMC Ekaterinburg during the WNBA offseason. Griner had played for the team since the 2014 season.

Shortly after she returned to the United States, Griner signed a one-year, $165,100 deal to play for the Mercury this season. Her return has been covered heavily, with U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Rodger Carstens attending her first regular-season home game versus the Chicago Sky.

“I can tell you from where I sit and the team sits in Washington D.C., we knew this day was going to come,” Carstens said. “We knew it was going to be hard, it would take some time. But what we saw today is exactly how I pictured it.”