9 and immediately asked to do what the imposing 6-9 center is known best for: Dunk a basketball. But the battle for Griner’s freedom was spotlighted more than anyone by her immediate WNBA family, a group of about 140 women who fought harder and louder than anyone to get her released, fitting for a league with a long history of activism.ĭetained in mid-February 2022, convicted in August and sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony − a system notorious for its brutality − Griner’s harrowing ordeal came to an end in December, when the Biden Administration traded Griner for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. It just does something to you, gives you a spark of life, to keep holding on to the fight.'īack home, that fight was led by the basketball community, including former great players-turned-coaches like Dawn Staley and members of the NBA. It was the first time she’d spoken to the media since returning. 'You don’t understand how good it felt to get a letter,' explained Griner on April 27, her voice thick with emotion and her eyes glassy with tears. Then she’d open correspondence from her wife, a random fan or, often, one of her basketball sisters.

'As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey or any accomplishments, I’m terrified I might be here forever,' she wrote. That vulnerability was on display last summer when Griner, a two-time Olympian and one of the greatest athletes of her generation, sent a letter to President Joe Biden as she awaited trial in Moscow after being accused of carrying cannabis oil in her luggage in mid-February 2022. There were times, stuck in a Russian prison cell 6,000 miles from her family, friends and teammates, that Brittney Griner felt wracked with hopelessness. Watch Video: WNBA star Brittney Griner attends WHCD, honored by President Biden

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