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Brittney Griner freed in U.S.-Russia prisoner exchange

Blinken’s Moscow policy criticized by envoy who helped free Brittney Griner​


Secretary of state’s reluctance to speak to Russian counterpart impedes US, says envoy who helped arrange WNBA star’s release

A former US diplomat who participated in efforts to free the WNBA star Brittney Griner from jail in Russia has harshly criticised the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, and the Biden administration over their approach to diplomacy with Moscow. Cameron Hume, a career diplomat who was an ambassador under Bill Clinton, George W Bush and Barack Obama, said: “For a secretary of state to not want to even get body language or two words from Sergei Lavrov about the situation in Moscow, in the Kremlin, in the people who are close to [Vladimir] Putin, during a time of war was striking to me.

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Griner's WNBA return kicks off ESPN, ABC slate​


Brittney Griner's return to the WNBA with the Phoenix Mercury will be the first of 25 regular-season broadcasts on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 this season, it was announced Wednesday. The networks will also air playoff games, and the WNBA All-Star Game will make its ABC primetime debut July 15 in Las Vegas (8:30 p.m. ET). As part of the broadcast coverage, there also is "WNBA Countdown presented by Google," an ESPN-produced pregame show that will air before at least 10 regular-season broadcasts and during the postseason.

Griner, who missed last season after she was detained for 10 months in Russia before her release in a high-profile prisoner swap, will make her return with the Phoenix Mercury as they visit the Los Angeles Sparks when the season tips off May 19 (11 p.m. ET, ESPN/ESPN App). Griner, who also played pro basketball in Russia, was arrested at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport in February 2022 after Russian authorities said she was carrying vape canisters with cannabis oil. The U.S. State Department had declared Griner to be "wrongfully detained." She returned to the United States in December and signed in February with the Mercury, who drafted her No. 1 in 2013.

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Brittney Griner calls for help for journalist arrested in Russia​


Brittney Griner, who was freed from a Russian penal colony in a prisoner exchange last year, has urged the Biden administration to use "every tool possible" to secure the release of a U.S. reporter accused of spying in Russia. Griner and her wife, Cherelle, posted on Instagram that "our hearts are filled with great concern" for Evan Gershkovich, the journalist arrested by Russia's FSB security service last week in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg. The Kremlin says Gershkovich, 31, was using journalism as a cover for spying activity -- something his newspaper, The Wall Street Journal, has vehemently denied. Brittney Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist who played for a Russian team in the WNBA offseason, was arrested at a Moscow airport one week before Russia invaded Ukraine last year.

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Brittney Griner memoir to detail 'unfathomable' time in Russia​


[size=5[Saying she is ready to share the "unfathomable" experience of being arrested and incarcerated in Russia, basketball star Brittney Griner is working on a memoir that is scheduled for spring 2024. Griner was arrested last year at an airport in Moscow on drug-related charges and detained for nearly 10 months, much of that time in prison. Her plight unfolded at the same time Russia invaded Ukraine and further heightened tensions between Russia and the U.S., ending only after she was freed in exchange for the notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

A WNBA All-Star with the Phoenix Mercury, Griner had flown to Moscow in February 2022 to rejoin UMMC Ekaterinburg, a Russian team she has played for in the offseason since 2014. "That day [in February] was the beginning of an unfathomable period in my life which only now am I ready to share," Griner said in a statement released Tuesday by Alfred A. Knopf.

Russia has been a popular playing destination for top WNBA athletes in the offseason, with some earning salaries over $1 million -- nearly quadruple what they can make as a base WNBA salary. Despite pleading guilty to possessing canisters with cannabis oil, a result of what she said was hasty packing, Griner still faced trial under Russian law. Griner's memoir is currently untitled and will eventually be published in a young adult edition. Financial terms were not disclosed.[/size]


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Brittney Griner Thanks the People Who Fought for Her Release: 'Every Prayer, It Reached Me'​


Griner announced Tuesday that she would release a memoir telling her "raw, emotional" story of her arrest and ten-month detainment in Russia. Brittney Griner is thanking those who advocated for her release.The WNBA star, 32, made a surprise appearance and speech at a National Action Network women's empowerment luncheon in New York City on Thursday, per the Associated Press. Griner addressed the crowd, per AP, saying, "Everyone in this room that came together, that sent up every prayer, it reached me while I was there [in Russia]."" I want to continue to fight to bring every American detained overseas," added Griner, who had been released from a Russian jail after spending nearly 10 months in custody.

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Johnny Nunez/WireImage


Griner photographed in a dark brown power suit shaking hands with Rev. Al Sharpton
 

Brittney Griner: Done playing overseas, want to help detained Americans​


Brittney Griner will not play overseas again unless it is with the U.S. national team, she said Thursday in her first news conference since being released in December after a 10-month detainment in Russia. Griner did not go into the specifics of being imprisoned in Russia from February to December 2022 but did address what it was like to be back with the Mercury and her goals for the upcoming WNBA season despite the physical challenges after being away from basketball for so long.

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After 'whirlwind' stops, Griner seeks leverage 'bigger' platform for good
With Griner's name having been amplified through social media, the news and by word-of-mouth while she was detained in Russia for 10 months, she's as well-known as some of the celebrities she met over the weekend.

Brittney Griner marks first Mercury traning camp practice
The last time Griner, 32, took the court as a member of the Mercury was on Oct. 17, 2021, when they lost the WNBA Finals to the Chicago Sky, 560 days ago.
 

Brittney Griner says it’s ‘a little overwhelming’ returning to normal life after Russian detainment​


Nearly five months after she was released from Russian detention, WNBA star Brittney Griner says it feels “a little overwhelming” to return to public life given the widespread interest in her case. Griner spent nearly 300 days in custody before being released as part of a prisoner swap involving Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout in December. She has since been reintegrating into life in the United States, meeting with US President Joe Biden, attending the Met Gala on Monday, and preparing for the season ahead with the Phoenix Mercury. “I didn’t think it could get that big,” Griner told reporters during the Mercury’s annual preseason media day on Wednesday. “But it’s cool because now I’m able to reach even more people and bring them into the WNBA but then also keep them aware of other detainees that are still left behind right now and that we’re trying to get home.

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Griner's back, Taurasi's healthy -- how good will Phoenix be in 2023?​


Brianna Turner was succinct. After a 117-80 playoff loss last August that ended a 2022 campaign that was challenging in so many ways, the Phoenix Mercury forward said the season was something she never wanted to go through again. The fact the Mercury were even in the playoffs was pretty amazing, considering all the hurdles they faced, led by center Brittney Griner's season-long absence as she was imprisoned in Russia from February-December 2022. Sometimes obstacles bond teams together, and sometimes they just exhaust them. The 2022 season did both for the Mercury, who finished 15-21.

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Brittney Griner makes unofficial return for Mercury​


Brittney Griner sat on the Phoenix Mercury bench and looked around. There was more than an hour until her first competitive game in 572 days -- since Game 4 of the 2021 WNBA Finals -- was set to tip off. Fans were starting to file in, some of her teammates were warming up on the court. A buzz around the Footprint Center was brewing. All eyes focused on Griner. A few hours later, it would all be over. She'd have played 17 minutes, scored 10 points and grabbed three rebounds in her unofficial return to the WNBA in a 90-71 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks in Friday night's preseason finale.Before all of that, though, she sat on the sidelines and started to zone out, thinking about the moment.

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Brittney Griner emotional after 'amazing' Phoenix homecoming​


Brittney Griner stood in front of a wall of screens on one end of a dark arena, waiting for her name to be announced in front of one the largest crowds in Phoenix Mercury history as a video tribute played throughout the Footprint Center on Sunday afternoon. It took the first three words of the song "Coming Home" by Diddy and Dirty Money, played over the montage, for Griner to start tearing up.

"Oh my god," Griner said after scoring 27 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in the Mercury's 75-69 loss to the Chicago Sky. "Oh my god.

Griner had last played in a competitive game in her home arena on Oct. 13, 2021, during the WNBA Finals against the same Sky team she faced in her first game back in Arizona after missing the 2022 season while she was detained in a Russian prison for 10 months.

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Brittney Griner hasn't forgotten about the other Americans wrongfully detained overseas. She's giving them a platform like never before.​


  • Brittney Griner returned to the US in a December prisoner swap after 10 months detained in Russia.
  • She's since returned to basketball, but remains heavily involved in advocating for wrongful detainees.
  • Griner is "a champion of the cause," three family members of wrongfully detained Americans told Insider.


Brittney Griner deboards the plane and takes her first steps back on US soil.

Griner deboards a plane and takes first steps back on US soil.U.S. Army

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