When Phoenix Mercury star center Brittney Griner was initially detained in Russia back in February, NBA players weren’t so quick to speak up on the situation.
Suns backup center JaVale McGee explained why on ESPN’s First Take.
“When it first happened, it was more it’s a sensitive subject and something we really don’t want to touch on because Russia is in a war right now and there’s a lot going on and things that we really can’t even imagine right now,” McGee said Tuesday morning.
Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in February.
“When we got the OK, or at least the head nod to speak on it, everybody was adamant, but internally, everybody was talking about it,” McGee continued. “It’s a crazy situation. Somebody in the WNBA is one of our own. To be locked up in a foreign country for something that’s legal in America, which is even crazier.”
Over time, several NBA players like McGee’s teammate Chris Paul and head coach Monty Williams, along with Lakers forwards LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and NBA Commissioner Adam Silver have used their platform to discuss Griner’s situation.
“I just don’t understand why she isn’t here yet, why she isn’t back already,” McGee said. “It’s a lot of things going on in this world and the fact that we have a, not even that she is a professional basketball player, but just an American held in Russia over in jail right now is crazy. Something should’ve been done when we first heard about it, when it first happened.”
Griner, 31, was detained at a Moscow airport in February after vape cartridges containing oil derived from cannabis were allegedly found in her luggage.
The WNBA star faces drug smuggling charges that carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.
The Mercury met Monday with members of the United States Department of State to discuss Griner’s status.
“We want BG to come home as soon as possible, it’s number one on our list,” Mercury teammate Diana Taurasi said in a news release.
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Phoenix Mercury, U.S. State Department talk Brittney Griner’s status
Phoenix Mercury star Diana Taurasi talk about the team’s meeting Monday with U.S. State Department about Brittney Griner’s detainment in Russia.
Duane Rankin, Arizona Republic
“Once we knew that BG was classified as wrongfully detained, that was a signal to us all. It’s something that we’ve all talked about intimately as a group and now knowing the State Department at the highest level, from U.S President Joe Biden to the team that is working on bringing back all Americans who are wrongfully detained, gives us a lot of confidence that they’re working on it.”
After that meeting, the team talked with Greg Stanton (Arizona) and Sheila Jackson Lee (Texas) from the U.S. Congress.
“For the team, coaches and executives at the Mercury, every day without Brittney is a lifetime,” said Stanton in a news release. “I was glad for the opportunity to share the work we’re doing in Congress to secure Brittney’s release.”
Stanton is leading a bipartisan resolution in Congress for Griner’s immediate exit from Russia, according to a news release.
“It was great to hear from the State Department that we should continue to amplify that message and that we should continue to press all those who have any influence or power to help bring BG home,” Mercury first-year coach Vanessa Nygaard in a news release. “She’s our teammate, she’s an American and we want her back home.”
Have opinion about current state of the Suns? Reach Suns Insider Duane Rankin at dmrankin@gannett.com or contact him at 480-787-1240. Follow him on Twitter at @DuaneRankin.
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