Mercury's Brittney Griner arrested on assault allegations

An argument between Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner and her fiancée turned physical on Wednesday afternoon, resulting in the arrests of both women on assault and disorderly conduct allegations, according to a police report.

Griner, 24, and the WNBA's Tulsa Shock player Glory Johnson were in an argument in the Goodyear home they recently purchased. Several people inside the home tried to break up the fight before police were called, police said.

Police reports indicate that Johnson's sister called Goodyear police Wednesday afternoon to report that Johnson and Griner were "in the living room throwing things at each other."

When police arrived at the home on 133rd Drive, Johnson's sister, Judy, told officers she was at a loss for what to do because of the way the two were fighting, so she called police.

"We couldn't get them pulled apart," Judy Johnson said, according to a police report.

Griner told officers that she and Johnson were having relationship issues and that they had just purchased their first home together.

David Michael Cantor, the attorney for Brittney Griner, released a statement on Thursday afternoon.

"The last few months have been an extremely stressful time for Brittney and Glory," the statement read. "They will continue to work through these hardships together and ask that the media respect their privacy as they handle this family matter. Glory and Brittney sincerely apologize for the distraction this has caused their families, respective teams, the WNBA, sponsors and fans."

Griner told police that she and Johnson had been arguing every day and got into each other's faces Wednesday afternoon in the home they had bought two days earlier after Johnson said Griner "disrespected" her, according to a police report.

Johnson told police Griner had gotten too close, so she pushed her back to get some separation and began talking to her sister when she was pushed in the back of the head by Griner. Johnson turned around and the physical altercation began, with both fighting on the floor for 4 to 6 minutes. The entire episode lasted about 20 minutes, according to the report.

"I asked Brittney if things got out of control, and she nodded her head up and down," according to a police report.

Griner had injuries to her hand, including what she described as a "tooth mark," and officers noticed another injury to her wrist and fingers, according to a police report.

"It turned into a fight. Broke up. We kept arguing, mouthing back and forth, clashed again, separated us, clashed again, separated us, and here we are now," Griner told officers, according to the police report.

In addition to Griner's injuries, Johnson had lacerations to her right lip and another man who was in the home suffered some injuries when he tried to break up the fight, according to the report.

Neither Griner nor Johnson desired prosecution and police arrested each of them at about 5 p.m. Wednesday on suspicion of assault and disorderly conduct. The booking report indicates that the altercation was being considered a domestic-violence offense.

Griner was a key player for the Mercury, helping them win the WNBA title in 2014. She was named the league's Defensive Player of the Year, in addition to being named All-WNBA First Team.

Last year, Griner averaged 15.6 points, 8.0 rebounds and 3.8 blocks in her second season in the league.

Jail information indicates that Griner was released at about 4 a.m. Thursday.

Johnson, 24, was a forward last year with the WNBA's Tulsa Shock and the pair announced their engagement late last summer.

Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.

STATEMENT BY MERCURY GENERAL MANAGER JIM PITMAN

Phoenix Mercury Executive Vice President and General Manager Jim Pitman has released the following statement Thursday morning:

"The Mercury organization is aware of an alleged incident involving Brittney Griner. We are in the process of gathering additional information, and will have no further comment at this time."

STATEMENT BY WNBA SPOKESPERSON DINA SKOKOS

"We are aware of the incident involving Brittney Griner and Glory Johnson and are working with the Phoenix Mercury and Tulsa Shock organizations to obtain more information."

STATEMENT BY TULSA SHOCK TEAM PRESIDENT STEVE SWETOHA

"We are aware of the reports out of Phoenix regarding player Glory Johnson. We are in the process of gathering information at this time. Of course our first concern is for Glory's well-being and health. We are looking into the matter further and have no other comment to make at this time."

PHOTOS: MERCURY 2014 PLAYOFFS