U.S. State Department officers met on Monday with Brittney Griner’s W.N.B.A. staff, the Phoenix Mercury, to debate the standing of Griner’s monthslong detention in Russia and efforts made towards securing her launch.
Griner, one of many W.N.B.A.’s most recognizable stars, has been held in Russia since Feb. 17, after customs officers accused her of carrying cannabis oil in her baggage at an airport close to Moscow.
In May, the State Department mentioned it decided that Griner had been “wrongfully detained.”
“It’s something that we’ve all talked about intimately as a group, and now knowing the State Department at the highest level, from U.S. President Joe Biden to the team that is working on bringing back all Americans who are wrongfully detained, gives us a lot of confidence that they’re working on it,” Diana Taurasi, the Mercury’s star guard, mentioned in an announcement. “Anything that we can do on our side to amplify and to put B.G. first will be our No. 1 priority.”
The assembly included representatives from the State Department, together with the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, in accordance with a division spokesman. After, members of the Mercury spoke with Representatives Greg Stanton, Democrat of Arizona, and Sheila Jackson Lee, Democrat of Texas. In May, Stanton, Jackson Lee and Representative Colin Allred, Democrat of Texas, launched a decision calling for Griner’s launch.
The Mercury are in Washington to play the Mystics on Tuesday.
Mercury ahead Brianna Turner mentioned officers inspired the staff to proceed speaking publicly about Griner.
“They encouraged us to keep speaking her name, to keep holding them accountable to bring B.G. back home as soon as possible,” Turner mentioned in an announcement.
Griner was returning to Russia to play for UMMC Yekaterinburg, knowledgeable ladies’s basketball staff, when she was detained. Many W.N.B.A. gamers supplement their incomes within the league’s low season by taking part in internationally, the place the top-tier athletes can draw salaries of round $1 million.
The drug expenses carry a penalty of as much as 10 years in jail if Griner is convicted in Russia.
Initially, Griner’s supporters spoke little publicly in regards to the detention, fearing her state of affairs would develop into a part of the bigger world battle involving Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the United States’ strained relationship with Russia.
That technique shifted after the State Department declared Griner had been “wrongfully detained” days after Russia exchanged Trevor R. Reed, a former U.S. Marine who had been sentenced to 9 years in jail for assault, in a prisoner swap.
Reed’s freedom raised hopes for the releases of Griner and Paul N. Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who was sentenced in Russia to 16 years in jail on espionage expenses.
In May, Cherelle Griner, Brittney Griner’s spouse, appeared on “Good Morning America” and appealed to President Biden to intervene.
“I just keep hearing that he has the power,” Cherelle Griner mentioned. “She’s a political pawn. If they’re holding her because they want you to do something, then I want you to do it.”
Brittney Griner’s supporters have adopted in vocalizing their assist for her launch. Many W.N.B.A. gamers have worn T-shirts and hoodies in assist of Griner, and her initials are displayed on the courts for all 12 W.N.B.A. groups.
Penny Taylor, Taurasi’s spouse and certainly one of Griner’s former teammates, used her induction into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame final week to ask for Griner’s launch.
“B.G. is our family,” Taylor mentioned. “She’s yours, too. The entire global sport community needs to come together to insist that she be a priority.”
