Brittney Griner made her return to the WNBA on Friday night, but her coach believes the fans in Los Angeles should have turned out in greater numbers to support her.

Speaking at a news conference after her team went down to a 94-71 defeat at the hands of the L.A. Sparks, Phoenix Mercury coach Vanessa Nygaard called out the absence of fans at the Crypto.com arena in L.A. for Griner’s first game back in the WNBA after her 10-month detainment in a Russian jail.

“Come on now, L.A.,” Nygaard said. “We didn’t sell out the arena for BG? Like, I expected more, to be honest. It was great, it was loud. But how was it not a sellout? How was it not a sellout?”

An announced crowd of 10,396 was on hand for the game on Friday, roughly half of the arena’s capacity. Those who were there gave Griner a loud ovation during the pregame ceremonies, as a video tribute to the Phoenix Mercury star played on the big screen.

Among those in attendance was Vice President Kamala Harris, who visited both teams prior to the game.

“It was amazing,” Griner said of the vice president’s visit. “It was nice to be able to see her face-to-face, talk to her, thank her for everything. And then the team really enjoyed it, too, when she came in.”

Though her team did lose in a blowout, Griner put up some strong stats in her first game back — notching 18 points, six rebounds, and four blocks.

The post Brittney Griner’s Coach Calls Out Fans for Blowing Off WNBA Star’s First Game Since Russian Detainment: ‘How Was it Not a Sellout?’ first appeared on Mediaite.

from Mediaite https://ift.tt/W7HDgG5