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United Kingdom
Summary
- Brittney Griner is back with the WNBA, 2 months after returning from a Russian prison
- Griner has signed a 12 month contract with her old team
- Phoenix Mercury commits to support Griner both on and off the court
Women’s Basketball star Brittney Griner had a terrible time in 2022 after she was arrested at a Russian airport in Feb 2022 for drugs.
Russian authorities found cannabis oil in her luggage and detained her for smuggling drugs into the country.
Griner Back In The WNBA After Jail Time In Russia
Griner pleaded guilty to the offense on the advice that she would get a lenient session but the Russian court ended up throwing the book at her and giving her a 9 year stretch in prison.
Griner was eventually released after the White House agreed to a prisoner swap with Russia and got her out in exchange for releasing notorious arms dealer Viktor Blout. Griner flew home in time for Christmas but her release was met with a mixed response from Americans who felt that she received preferential treatment because of her star power and also because she is a member of the LGBTQ community.
Just over 2 months since returning to the United States, Griner is looking to get her life back together and things appear to be falling in place. Griner is no longer a free agent as she has signed a 12 month contract with her old team Phoenix Mercury.
Griner’s signing with Phoenix Mercury does not come as a surprise as she made it clear that she was keen on re-joining her old team and playing in the WNBA as soon as possible. She took to Instagram to announce her new contract by saying that it was good to be back with the family!
Phoenix Mercury Commits To Support Griner
Griner has represented the United States in the Olympics and has won gold on two occasions and her presence will definitely strengthen Mercury’s odds with US bookies to win the WNBA Championship this season.
In a statement, Jim Pitman, GM for Phoenix Mercury said
It’s a great day for all of us to announce that Brittney Griner has officially signed to play for the Mercury in 2023. We will continue to use the resources of our organization to support her, on and off the floor, and we are thrilled for her that she gets to return to basketball, which she loves so dearly
