WNBA star Brittney Griner spent her 32nd birthday in a Russian prison on Tuesday as friends, family and the league vowed to keep fighting for her release.
“We will not forget about you and we will not stop fighting for you,” the WNBA posted on Twitter. “The W won’t be the same until you’re home.”
Griner was arrested on Feb. 17 at a Moscow-area airport when authorities found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage. On Aug. 4, she was sentenced to nine years in a penal colony on drug smuggling and possession charges.
“I think of her every day,” New York Liberty coach Sandy Brondello, who coached the Mercury from 2014-21, told ESPN. “Not just the great player she developed into. She has this amazing laugh, which I can’t wait to hear again.”
South Carolina coach Dawn Staley coached Griner on the 2020 Summer Olympics gold medal-winning Team USA squad.
“There is such a human side to BG that a lot of people on the outside don’t know,” Staley told ESPN. “I wish that a lot of people were able to see that and could express themselves with the honesty that Brittney does.”
Last month, President Joe Biden met at the White House with Griner’s wife, Cherelle Griner, to discuss ongoing attempts to free the WNBA star from a Russian prison. Russian officials have not accepted the United States’ offer of a prisoner swap.
A seven-time All-Star center, Griner was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft and averaged 17.7 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in 254 starts with Phoenix from 2013-21.
–Field Level Media
