Three days before the start of the 26th WNBA season, significant updates have arrived concerning Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner. The 31-year-old, nine-year WNBA veteran has been detained over two months in Russia reportedly over drug charges.
On Tuesday it was reported that the U.S. government now considers Griner to be “wrongfully detained by the Russian government” per a source to ESPN’s T.J. Quinn. The new designation of her status could mean a different strategy in negotiating and securing her release.
Griner’s agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, in a statement to ESPN this morning, said: “Brittney has been detained for 75 days and our expectation is that the White House do whatever is necessary to bring her home.”
Griner now being designated as wrongfully detained means that the U.S. government won’t wait on the Russian legal system and will seek to negotiate Griner’s return.
A source close to Griner also confirmed that Bill Richardson, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, has agreed to work on her case, per Quinn. Richardson has worked privately for years as an international hostage negotiator,
Griner, a Houston native who played collegiately at Baylor University in Waco, has been detained in Russia since mid-February after customs officials said they found hashish oil in her luggage at an airport near Moscow.
At that time, Russian Federal Customs Service alleged it searched luggage believed to belong to Griner and found vape cartridges that contained oil derived from cannabis — a crime that carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Griner was not mentioned by name at that point, but the customs service identified the detained person as a player for the U.S. women’s team but did not specify the date of her arrest. The customs service released video of an individual that appears to be the 6-foot-9 Griner going through airport security.
Griner competes as part of Team USA Women’s Basketball and won gold medals in the 2016 and 2021 Olympics. Like most WNBA players, she plays basketball overseas in the offseason, most recently Russia.
WNBA Honors Griner
The WNBA on Tuesday also released plans to ”acknowledge the importance” of Griner to the league as its 26th season tips off Friday.
During the 2022 season Griner’s initials and jersey number (#42) will be featured along the sideline of all 12 WNBA courts.
“As we begin the 2022 season, we are keeping Brittney at the forefront of what we do through the game of basketball and in the community,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “We continue to work on bringing Brittney home and are appreciative of the support the community has shown BG and her family during this extraordinarily challenging time.”
The league also announced today that the Mercury have been granted both roster and salary cap relief so that it can carry a replacement player until Griner, who will be paid her full salary, returns home and is ready to get back on the court.
The Mercury, who drafted Griner #1 overall in the 2013 draft, have also outlined several philanthropic initiatives recognizing Griner and modeled after her contributions to the Phoenix community. These will take place across the league during tip-off weekend into the 2022 season.
Every WNBA market will support “BG’s Heart and Sole Shoe Drive”, which is in partnership with the Phoenix Rescue Mission. Griner founded the initiative in 2016 to support the homeless population.
“It’s a tough situation. Regardless of basketball, just as a person,” said Dallas Wings guard Arike Ogunbowale. “She’s an amazing person. She’s a family member of the WNBA and everybody likes her. She is nice to everyone.
“Plus with Phoenix, she just came off a great season and to not have her right away is tough. We are all praying for her, the world is praying for her and her safe return. Hopefully that happens really soon.”
Said Marina Mabrey, Wings guard: “We all miss her. It’s so unfortunate. We wish her safety and that we get her back as soon as possible.
“The game misses her. The world misses her.”
