On Friday night, Brittney Griner strolled down the sideline a few hours before the Phoenix Mercury played, offering hugs and high-fiving her teammates, coaches and opposing players.
The former Baylor star helped the franchise win its third title in 2014 and has averaged 17.7 points and 7.6 rebounds during her nine-year career. She was runner-up for Most Valuable Player in 2021, when the Mercury also played in the Finals but lost to the Chicago Sky.
Griner said she was more rusty on the court than expected. But given the trials and emotions of the past 18 months, it was a pretty good night.Phoenix opens the regular season in Los Angeles next Friday. The extra exposure from being detained in Russia for having vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage has given Griner a platform to advocate for other Americans being detained abroad. She was already an LGBTQ+ activist since publicly coming out in 2013 and became the first openly gay athlete to be sponsored by Nike.
Griner noted that the reason she and other WNBA players even play in other countries during the offseason in the first play is the disparity in pay between their league and the WNBA. Griner announced in April that she is working with Bring Our Families Home, a campaign formed last year by the family members of American hostages and wrongful detainees held overseas. She said her team has been in contact with the family of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is being detained in Russia on espionage charges.
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Brittney Griner Returns To Court In First WNBA Action Since Russian DetainmentGriner dropped 10 points and three rebounds in her first WNBA preseason game after spending nearly 10 months detained in Russia.
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Brittney Griner plays in first WNBA preseason game since detainment in RussiaBrittney Griner strolled down the sideline about 1 1/2 hours before the Phoenix Mercury played Friday night, giving hugs and high-fiving her teammates, coaches and opposing players.
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Brittney Griner plays in first WNBA preseason game since detainment in RussiaBrittney Griner strolled down the sideline about 1 1/2 hours before the Phoenix Mercury played and hugged and high-fived her teammates, coaches and opposing players
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Brittney Griner plays in first WNBA preseason game since detainment in RussiaBrittney Griner strolled down the sideline about 1 1/2 hours before the Phoenix Mercury played and hugged and high-fived her teammates, coaches and opposing players.
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Brittney Griner plays in first WNBA preseason game since detainment in RussiaThe seven-time All-Star, who missed the entire 2022 season, finished with 10 points and three rebounds in a WNBA preseason game.
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Brittney Griner plays in first WNBA game since Russian detainment“I’m grateful to be here, that’s for sure,” she said. “I’m not going to take a day for granted.”
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