Brittney Griner ‘re-signs with Mercury for one year’ after release from Russian prison camp

By James On Feb 19, 2023

Unsurprisingly, Brittney Griner returns to the Phoenix Mercury.

After being detained in Russia for 10 months, the 32-year-old free agent signed a one-year contract with the team, the sources said. ESPN. Spokesmen for Griner’s agency and the team did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com’s request for confirmation.

Griner hasn’t played for the Mercury since 2021, when she led Phoenix to the WNBA Finals before losing to the Chicago Sky. Regardless, Griner was nearly unstoppable that season, averaging 20.5 points, 1.9 blocks, 2.7 assists and a career-high 9.5 rebounds per game.

And there was more good news Saturday for the Mercury, who also announced Diana Taurasi, the league’s all-time leading scorer, is back on a multiyear deal.

Since her return from a Russian penal colony, where she was incarcerated on drug charges, Griner has been seen with her wife Cherelle at Super Bowl LVII in Glendale, Arizona.

Griner acknowledged the fans while watching some golf at the Phoenix Open the day before.

The former Baylor star was released from a Russian penal colony in December after being acquired in a US-Russia prisoner swap from convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Griner, who had played professionally in Russia since 2014, was returning to the country in February when she was stopped at the Moscow airport with what authorities claimed were vape cartridges containing cannabis oil. Ultimately, Griner was found guilty in August and sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony. A subsequent appeal was denied in October.

She had been assigned to a penal colony in Mordovia, a region known for its brutal prison system, until the Biden administration was able to secure her release earlier this month.

“President Biden, you brought me home, and I know you are committed to bringing Paul Whelan and all Americans home, too,” he said in December. I will use my platform to do everything I can to help you. I also encourage everyone who played a role in bringing me home to continue their efforts to bring all Americans home. Every family deserves to be complete.

The Biden administration negotiated with the Kremlin for months to get Griner and Whelan back from Russia, but only succeeded in getting the WNBA star in exchange for Bout.

Brittney Griner is shown hugging her wife after returning to the US from Russia via the United Arab Emirates.

Suspected arms smuggler Viktor Bout of Russia looks behind bars at a criminal court in Bangkok on October 4, 2010.

Paul Whelan, a former US Marine charged with espionage and arrested in Russia, listens to his lawyers as he stands inside the defendants’ cage during a court hearing in Moscow on January 22, 2019. Griner said that she is “sure” that the white House can take it home too.

Griner and Bout passed each other on a track in the United Arab Emirates to complete the exchange. Referred to by some as the ‘merchant of death’, Bout was arrested on terrorism charges in 2008 and later convicted in the US.

The deal has drawn criticism from Republicans, who were upset that the White House couldn’t get Whelan as well. Responding to attacks from the right, White House officials acknowledged that prisoner exchanges are costly, adding that they felt compelled to bring Griner home while they had the chance.

The 6-foot-9 Griner is an eight-time US All-Star and one of only 11 players to win an Olympic gold medal, FIBA World Cup gold medal, FIBA World Cup title, WNBA and NCAA title, which she captured at Baylor. in 2012.

“I also want to make one thing very clear: I intend to play basketball for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury this season, and in doing so, I look forward to saying ‘thank you’ to those of you who advocated, wrote and published for me in person soon.” Griner said in his December statement.