Brittney Griner Ejected from Game After Nearly Coming to Blows with Sparks Rookie Rickea Jackson

The Phoenix Mercury star needed to be restrained following a scuffle with the Los Angeles Sparks rookie

Brittney Griner’s night ended in frustration and an ejection Tuesday after getting into a scuffle with Los Angeles Sparks rookie Rickea Jackson that nearly came to blows.

Griner, 33, needed to be restrained as teammates tried to calm the WNBA star before she and Jackson, 23, threw any punches. Griner appeared to ball her right fist before players and coaches jumped between her and Jackson.

Griner and Jackson were both ejected from the game.

The incident happened shortly before halftime during a Phoenix free throw attempt, while Griner tried to box out Jackson and her teammate Li Yueru. Griner appeared to push her forearm into Jackson and then turned around and threw her elbow up towards Jackson’s face after the two got tangled up. Jackson and Griner then began shoving each other before teammates and coaches intervened.

“That developed very quickly,” the game’s broadcaster said.

Griner left the game with 14 points and three rebounds. The 10-time WNBA All Star currently leads her team with 6.5 rebounds per game.

Related: Brittney Griner Reveals the Name She Wants Her Newborn Son Bash to Call Her

It’s been a big year for Griner, despite an at-times frustrating season that has seen the Mercury slip to 19-20 in the WNBA standings.

Griner and her wife Cherelle Griner welcomed their first son together in July, baby Bash.

“He is amazing," Griner told CBS Sports earlier this summer. "They said as soon as you see them, everything that you thought mattered just goes out the window. That's literally what happened."

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She and Cherelle, a lawyer, have been married since 2019 after first meeting in college at Baylor University, where they were both students.

And weeks after becoming a parent for the first time, Griner then flew to Paris to help Team USA win its seventh-straight Olympic gold medal (the team’s ninth gold since women’s basketball was introduced at the Olympics in 1976).

Related: All About Brittney Griner's Parents, Raymond and Sandra Griner

The Olympics marked a milestone moment for the two-time AP Player of the Year. Though she's won three gold medals overall with Team USA, this was her first Olympics since she was detained for 10 months in Russia, and Griner was overcome with emotion after they won again in Paris.

Griner could be seen shedding tears as the “Star Spangled Banner” was played throughout the arena after she and Team USA captured the gold.

"My country fought for me to get back. And I was able to bring home gold for my country,” she told reporters afterwards. “There's just no greater feeling.”

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