Basketball star Brittney Griner had a scary moment in China on Monday when she was attacked while on tour in Shenyang, China, by a man wielding a knife. She suffered a small cut on her elbow but was protected by the jacket she was wearing and was not hospitalized.
Griner posted this on Instagram:
First let me say I'm ok!!!! But last night me and 3 my teammates got chase and attack by a man with a big ass knife got a little scratch and my teammates walk away unharmed! He chase us into our bus and had us corned yelling at us then he finally left! Ugh lets just say I'm ready to get out this city we are visiting! Life can be took at any moment! Cherish every moment! AGAIN IM OK! Thank you to everyone that has been checking on me!
One of her teammates was also attacked but uninjured and the man was apprehended.
Griner and two of her teammates were walking from the practice arena to the team bus when a man appeared with a knife, sources told espnW's Kate Fagan. The assailant began yelling, swinging the knife wildly, and chased Griner and the two teammates onto the bus, sources said. During this, the man stabbed at Griner and caught her on the elbow, slightly nicking her.
Agent Lindsay Kagawa Colas said the 6-foot-8 Griner was wearing a winter coat and that the knife barely cut her skin. Griner didn't require stitches.
Griner, who plays for the Phoenix Mercury and is openly lesbian, said security has been increased and she still feels safe in China. But she told AP: "I was thinking I was going to end up stabbed in China and if he got to us at the back of the bus, I was going to have to fight this man with a knife. The guy was clearly either mentally ill or very drunk," she added. "He was yelling about us hitting his wife and it was pretty clear he had no idea who we were."
