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Steph Curry took time to focus on imprisoned Brittney Griner during his ring night speech with the Golden State Warriors.
WNBA star Griner turned 32 today and she said she was grateful for all the love and support from fans on her birthday from a Russian prison.
NBA star Curry, who picked up his fourth championship ring on Tuesday night, took the microphone for the Warriors regular season opener against the Los Angeles Lakers and turned his attention to Griner.
“The chance to shout out a very special member of the basketball community. Today is Brittney Griner’s birthday, she is 32 years old,” he told the court.
“We want to continue to make her name known and it has been 243 days since she was wrongfully imprisoned in Russia. We hope she comes home soon and that everyone does their best to get her home.”
Griner released a statement Tuesday through her lawyers who were able to visit her, according to CNN.
Steph Curry called out Brittney Griner during his ring night speech on Tuesday
WNBA star Griner turned 32 today and she said she was grateful for all the love and support. She holds photos in a defendant’s cage before a hearing at the Khimki court, outside Moscow on July 27
“Thank you all for fighting so hard to get me home. All the support and love certainly help me,” Griner said in her message.
The statement was released through her lawyers, Maria Blagovolina and Alexander Boykov, partners with Rybalkin, Gortsunyan, Dyakin and Partners.
“Today is obviously a difficult day for Brittney,” Blagovolina said. Not only is this her birthday in prison, away from her family, teammates and friends, but she is also very tense as she awaits the appeal hearing on October 25.”
The lawyers visited their client and reportedly were able to spend some time with her as she celebrated her birthday thousands of miles away from her family.
Blagovolina and Boykoc said they passed on birthday messages from her loved ones, including wife Cherelle Griner.
Cherelle has been one of the main forces in the movement to free Brittney from the prison where “she is a hostage”.
“I’m terrified that I’ll be here forever,” Griner wrote in a letter recently. “I realize you’re dealing with so much, but don’t forget me and the other American inmates”
Some reports indicate Brittney spends up to 23 hours a day in a small Russian prison cell, accompanied by two cellmates
Brittney was sentenced to nine years in the Kremlin in August for drug possession.
The WNBA player was found earlier this year with cannabis oil in her suitcase during a trip to Russia.
At the time, Brittney said she accidentally packed the oil, assuming it was refills for her vape.
Cherelle recently sat down with CBS News to discuss the situation and the actions she has taken to free her wife.
“In no world did I ever think, you know, our president and a president of another country would sit down to discuss my wife’s freedom,” Cherelle said. CBS News.
“It feels to me like she’s a hostage.
“It scares me because, I mean, when you watch movies, sometimes those situations don’t end well. Sometimes they never get the person back.”
On the basketball player’s birthday, the league said they will continue to think and fight for her until she is back on American soil.
Happy Birthday Brittney Griner, we won’t forget you and we won’t stop fighting for you. The W won’t be the same until you get home #WeAreBG,” the WNBA wrote on Tuesday afternoon.
The WNBA player admitted to having the cannabis oil in her luggage, but claimed they were packed by mistake.
Brittney said she was in a hurry and that’s how the cannabis prescribed for her pain ended up in her bags.
Before her sentencing in August, the US State Department said she was “unjustly detained” by the Russian government.
Brittney is due to appear in court on October 25 to appeal her jail sentence.