‘Day of joy’ as Griner makes WNBA return after Russia ordeal

World
By William

Brittney Griner was released from a Russian penal colony late last year in a high-profile prisoner exchange with the US.

Brittney Griner has made an emotional return to women’s basketball, playing her first league game in nearly two years after her imprisonment in Russia.

Griner, who was released by Russia last year as part of a prisoner exchange, made her first appearance in a WNBA game in 579 days on Friday night when the Phoenix Mercury faced the Los Angeles Sparks in a season opener in California.

US Vice President Kamala Harris was one of the benefactors at the Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles when the WNBA superstar finally got back into action.

The two-time Olympic gold medalist made an immediate impact on her return, winning the tip and scoring four points as the Mercury took a 7-0 lead early on.

The crowd erupted when she hit a 16-foot jumper on her first attempt of the match.

“It felt good,” Griner said in a court interview at the end of the first quarter. “It felt really good. It felt like the last time I played.”

Griner eventually finished with 18 points and six rebounds, but couldn’t prevent Phoenix from falling to a sweepstakes 94–71 loss.

The result, however, was almost a footnote to an occasion that Phoenix coach Vanessa Nygaard described as a “day of joy.”

“Last season I opened every press conference with how many days she was gone,” Nygaard said in a pre-game comment.

“And until the day we got the morning news that she was on her way home, nobody thought it would happen.

“We probably enjoyed our work less than professional athletes. It was tough every day. But it’s great to have this game today. Today is a day of joy.”

Celebrities on the court Friday included tennis legend Billie Jean King, Los Angeles Lakers icon Earvin “Magic” Johnson and current Lakers head coach Darvin Ham.

Shortly before the tip, Vice President Harris congratulated the Phoenix players for ensuring Griner’s case was not forgotten.

“Thank you for everything you did to support Brittney, because I know that was tough,” Harris said in a dressing room speech. “That was so hard for you, because a team is a team – that’s family.”

WNBA players’ union leader and Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike thanked Harris and the Biden administration for helping to secure Griner’s release.

“Tonight is a game, but we are also celebrating the return of one of our own players,” said Ogwumike.

Griner, 32, a WNBA champion and LGBTQ pioneer, was arrested at a Moscow airport in February 2022 on drug charges amid rising tensions over Ukraine.

At the time of her arrest, Griner was playing for a professional team in Russia, as a number of WNBA players do in the offseason.

She was charged with possession of vape cartridges containing a small amount of cannabis oil and was sentenced to nine years in prison in August.

She pleaded guilty to the charges but said she had no intention of breaking the law or using the banned substance in Russia.

Griner was eventually released as part of a deal that saw her traded in December for notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout – known as the “Death Merchant”.

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