CHICAGO – Brittney GrinerFellow WNBA players honored her during the tournament’s All-Star game in Chicago on Sunday, wearing jerseys with her name and number in the second half.
Griner, who has played for the Phoenix Mercury since 2013, has detained in Russia on drug charges since February. On Sunday, with Griner’s wife, Cherelle GrinerSitting in the yard, the All-Stars lined up after halftime to match the number 42 jersey with the “Griner” on the back.
Several players hugged Cherelle Griner, who said on the ESPN broadcast that she was grateful they didn’t forget about their wives.
A’ja Wilson, a forward for the Las Vegas Aces who served as one of the team’s captains, said wearing the jersey was “a statement in itself.”
“We’re not going to stop until people understand how serious this is,” she said.
Griner, a seven-time All-Star who won the championship with Mercury in 2014 and has two Olympic gold medals, was also named an honorary starter for the game by the federation.
Griner had been to Russia to play for UMMC Yekaterinburg, a professional football team, when she allegedly had hash oil in her luggage at an airport near Moscow. Last week, she pleaded guilty with drug charges, but she was not formally convicted. She faces 10 years in a penal colony.
The US State Department said that Griner was “wrongfully detained“And it will work to secure her release.
On Sunday, the WNBA commissioner, Cathy Engelbert, told a news conference that Griner’s situation had influenced the players’ decisions about playing internationally. Some players who often play in Russia have signed with teams in other countries for the upcoming off-season.
“We wouldn’t say you can’t play abroad,” Engelbert said.
WNBA players are free to compete abroad, but can be penalized for being late to training camp or early in the season – which is often the case because of international schedules. Starting next year, players could be banned from the league if they don’t return to the start of the WNBA season.
Leagues and teams also offer incentives to encourage players to stay in the United States, such as marketing deals and bonuses. Engelbert said the league plans to spend $1.5 million on player marketing deals during this cycle, up several hundred thousand dollars from the previous cycle.
