From Brittney Griner to the NFL scouting combine, thoughts on eventful week in sports

It's been a while since I've written — a post-Super Bowl break became longer than intended after I had jury duty and ultimately was seated on one. So instead of a column on a single topic, I'm trying one on a bunch of different thoughts.

Brittney Griner's alarming situation

The Brittney Griner situation is scary and hits on a lot of things. First and foremost, it's scary that she had been in Russian custody for three weeks before Russian state media reported it. It's also scary that she's an openly gay Black woman being held by a country that is, at best, unfriendly to Black people and hostile to LGBTQ rights.

Since the information on her drug possession is coming from Russian customs officials, it can't be trusted. While it's entirely possible Griner made a major mistake despite her years of experience traveling to the country and simply forgot to remove her vape cartridges, it also is entirely possible Russian authorities lied about what she had on her because she is a gold-medal-winning, high-profile American athlete. American police lie about the quantity of drugs found on a person and have even been found to have planted them on citizens, especially Black ones.

And finally, the fact that Griner and other WNBA players still have to go overseas at all is telling. The 2020 collective bargaining agreement has been rightly hailed for the gains it got players, but the fact remains Griner is one of the best players on the planet and her $1 million payday with UMMC Ekaterinburg is more than four times what she earns in the WNBA.

Pay NFL combine participants

In last week's NFL Combine Part 1 "You Pod to Win the Game" episode, colleague and friend Charles Robinson mentioned a discussion he had with someone in the league regarding prospects who won't do drills at the combine, instead saying they'll do them at their pro day. Robinson's source said he can see a day when prospects are paid to take part in the combine, and it begged the question: Why hasn't this happened yet?

It's a complicated answer of course, because the players aren't yet part of the NFL Players Association so there isn't someone to bargain on their behalf. But given that over the last several years the NFL has turned the event from a fact-finding mission for teams to a television show for its in-house network, even moving the 40-yard dash to prime time this year, the athletes should be paid like any other athlete or actor.

The combine isn't as much for scouting anymore, it's another way for the league to keep its coffers filled and offer fresh content on NFL Network. Pay the talent for their performance.

Dear state legislators: Focus on abuse in women's sports

Here's a thought: If state legislatures really want to protect girls and women in sports, protect them from abusive and predatory coaches. Don't see many rallies for that, though. Just attempts to demonize a very small group of human beings who likely find the same joy, escape and self-esteem in sports that so many of us do, especially in our formative teenage years.

Why jury duty was so important to me last week

Confession: I begged out of jury duty the first three times I was called, the first two times citing my job as a New England Patriots beat writer and the upcoming draft. But in recent years, I've learned how grossly underrepresented Black citizens are on juries. (True story: My parents have lived full-time in Manatee County, Florida, for 15 years, and while my white father has been called three times, my Black mother never has.) So I told myself the next time I was called I'd see it through, unless I truly could not be unbiased for a particular trial.

So on Feb. 23, I dutifully reported to Suffolk Superior Courthouse, and by the end of the day, I was chosen to sit on a jury for a civil trial. The trial involved a man's civil liberty, as he was petitioning to be released from Massachusetts' state facility for sexually dangerous persons, which meant the state had to prove beyond a reasonable doubt he should still be kept there.

Over two-plus days last week, we heard expert testimony, with the state presenting two highly experienced qualified examiners and the decision of a five-person community board that had reviewed the man's case, and all believed he is still sexually dangerous. The 13 of us deliberated for about seven hours, in a truly respectful manner that allowed for everyone's voice to be heard and arguments considered. It was a difficult decision, and really, the man's life and circumstances illuminated the many problems with our larger social support system, or lack thereof.

Ultimately, we decided the state had proven its case. I also learned I kind of liked the whole process, and the next time I get my postcard telling me it's my turn again, I'll be there happily.

What's up with the team charter flights flap, WNBA?

Back to the WNBA for a second. A team that made its players comfortable while flying, and made it possible for other teams to do the same, was punished with the biggest fine in league history?

Many colleges offer charter flights for their sports teams — men's and women's — but WNBA players can't? And the only real reason seems to be that team owners don't want to spend the money?

Do y'all team owners want to win and maximize your athletes' play or not? Make it make sense.

I'm over Aaron Rodgers

Raise your hand if you're as over Aaron Rodgers as I am. So much drama, all of it self-created.

Don't forget the most important Deshaun Watson detail

Speaking of self-created: If you aren't mentioning the reason why Deshaun Watson hasn't yet been traded, you're doing it wrong. The man has been credibly accused of sexual misconduct by nearly two dozen women. Don't get me wrong, some NFL team in the not-so-distant future will overlook that so it can get a young franchise quarterback, but the legal side is why he's in limbo, not his own indecision or a team being unwilling to give up the draft capital it will take to acquire him.

Unsurprisingly, there are reports out of the combine that the Commanders are interested, because with the long history of the gross mistreatment of women in his team's offices, of course team owner Daniel Snyder would be interested in Watson.

What a mess in MLB

The MLB lockout situation is a mess and lacks trust on both sides, a key element to negotiations. It also offers another instance where it seems like new-age team owners see having a team only as a piggybank and have little, if any, interest in actually winning. Props to colleague Hannah Keyser for reporting the heck out of all of it.

A great women's hoops finish from Sunday

The absolute best thing about sports is the unpredictability. Like Kentucky upsetting No. 1 South Carolina to win the women's basketball SEC title on a Dre'una Edwards 3-pointer with just over 4 seconds to play.

A name to know for Women's History Month

In recognition of Women's History Month and March 7, the anniversary of the first Selma-to-Montgomery voting rights march, also known as Bloody Sunday, a name to know: Amelia Boynton Robinson. The late Ms. Robinson, who died in 2015 just after her 104th birthday, was the first Black woman from Alabama to run for Congress, doing so in 1964 (she lost but earned 11% of the vote, notable given that 5% of Black people in the precinct were registered to vote at the time).

Known as the matriarch of voting rights for her decades of work fighting for the rights of Black citizens, she was also one of the leading organizers of the marches and was at the front of the line of marchers over the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965; she was hospitalized for two weeks after she was beaten unconscious by state troopers. On the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, she held hands with President Barack Obama as she walked across the bridge once again.