Basketball star Brittney Griner using new platform for greater good after Russian detainment

Brittney Griner caught a flight to Washington to attend the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner, landed back at Phoenix around 4am and was up five hours later for the start of training camp.

After going through her first workout with the Phoenix Mercury, she hopped on a plane to New York to attend the Met Gala, schmoozing with Usher, Patrick Mahomes and Dwyane Wade before returning to the desert. Griner didn’t get back until after 1am Phoenix time and was back on the court with the Mercury later that morning.

“It’s been a whirlwind”, Griner said on Wednesday at the Mercury’s media day. “I have a lot of respect for the stars that do that. It’s not me. I don’t how they do it. It was amazing, two big honours to be able to go and be there, but I’m taking a big nap today”.

Griner mostly kept a low profile since a nearly 10-month detainment in Russia on drug-related charges ended with a prisoner swap in December. Now that the WNBA season is just around the corner, the Mercury star has been front and centre on the court and off it.

Griner’s return to the Mercury rekindles hope the franchise can make another run to the WNBA Finals. The extra exposure from being detained in Russia for having vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage has given Griner a platform to advocate for other Americans being detained abroad.

“It’s cool because now I’m able to reach even more people and bring them into the WNBA, but then also keep them aware of other people that are still left behind right now and trying to get home,” Griner said. “Just using that bigger outlet to continue to support others that don’t have the spotlight or the media coverage that they should be able to get.”