The WNBA Has Fined Athlete Brittney Griner After Her Flagrant Foul Against Angel Reese
Adding fuel to the fire, Brittney's reaction was caught on camera, too — much to the public's amusement.
Published June 4 2026, 9:24 a.m. ET
The WNBA has no shortage of controversial athletes, and Brittney Griner is far from an exception. Most famous for spending time in a Russian prison before the Biden administration brought her back to the US in a hotly debated prisoner swap, the athlete has added a new controversy to her resume. At least this one is sports-related...
The Connecticut Sun center was playing in her team's June 2 game against the Atlanta Dream when the WNBA chose to fine her. Now, fans want to know what the athlete did that got her penalized.
Why did the WNBA fine Brittney Griner?
During the game, Brittney committed a Flagrant 1 foul against Atlanta Dream's Angel Reese. In the clips circling social media, it appears that Brittney threw Angel to the ground. It's worth noting that Brittney did help Angel up afterwards and appeared to have apologized.
The player has been fined $500, per Sports Illustrated, for the incident that has now gone viral. Furthermore, foul "points" can accumulate throughout a season, with a player who has reached four or more "points" facing various levels of suspension.
The Brittney Griner / Angel Reese foul is just as controversial as the athletes are.
Usually, when an athlete is widely disliked, the public is quick to jump on them being penalized in any way possible. However, in this particular case, Brittney and Angel are both controversial, leaving WNBA fans divided as to which one they want to side with.
Basketball enthusiasts have taken to Reddit to discuss the foul, with most people choosing to side with Brittney.
One person wrote, "Big flop. Her body jerks back unnaturally without any matching movement from Griner to justify it. It started with Angel holding her arm, then Griner was holding Angel. Then Angel flopped to sell the contact even though both were guilty."
Someone Team Angel shared, "How do you call that a flop when Griner literally has her arm around her to prevent Reese from getting to the ball?" Meanwhile, a member of Team Brittney argued, "It was a flop. You can generally tell a flop when a player throws their arms up and doesn't instinctually use them to break their fall."
Brittney's reaction has also been the center of attention.
Adding fuel to the foul fire, Brittney's reaction was caught on camera — much to the public's amusement. The athlete comes off as unfazed in a short clip in which she wipes her face and shrugs her shoulders over the ordeal.
Amused comments on a Facebook clip with Brittney's reaction include, "Reese started it; Griner finished it," "She choke slammed that girl," and "She acted surprised as if she didn't just push down on her neck."
It seems that no one is rushing to defend either WNBA player, but the public certainly seems delighted that this scuffle occurred. As far as Brittney and Angel haters are concerned, this incident has harmed two athletes with one foul.