WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Sunday that bringing US basketball star Brittney Griner home from Russia, where she faces up to 10 years in prison on a drug charge, remains a top priority for the league.
Griner pleaded guilty to a drug charge in a Russian court last week but denied intentionally breaking the law. Her next court hearing was scheduled for July 14.
“Obviously Brittney Griner is on our minds at this point,” Engelbert said in her opening statement to the media ahead of Sunday’s WNBA All-Star Game in Chicago.
“She remains a huge priority for us and continues to have our full support and is fully focused on getting her home safely and naturally as soon as possible.”
Griner was previously named an honorary starter for the All-Star Game and her initials and number will be featured on the court and also on the back of the players’ pre-match shirts.
The two-time Olympic gold medalist was arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport in February with vape cartridges containing hash oil, which is illegal in Russia, and has been in custody ever since.
A center for Phoenix Mercury in the Women’s National Basketball Association, 31-year-old Griner has often played for a Russian professional team during the WNBA off-season to supplement her income.
US President Joe Biden told Griner’s wife last week he was working to secure the player’s release from Russia as soon as possible, describing her detention on drug charges as “intolerable”.
(Reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto; Editing by Toby Davis)