Getty Kyrie Irving of the Brooklyn Nets.
Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner was released from a Russian prison December 8 in a prisoner swap for arms dealer Viktor Bout after being detained for nearly 300 days. After the Brooklyn Nets‘ December 12 over the Washington Wizards, Kyrie Irving sent a message regarding her release.
“I’m grateful she’s home,” Irving said. “I’m grateful she’s with her family. Most importantly, humanity comes first. We all feel for her. We all feel for everyone that is wrongfully in prison or in some type of prison where they haven’t gotten their justice. We feel for her, for sure. I’m just grateful that we can all share in the celebration with her being here and still more work to do in our world.”
The latest Nets news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Nets newsletter here!
Miami Heat Star Urges Griner to Share Experience
The WNBA star’s incarceration last February resulted in both WNBA and NBA stars imploring the U.S. government, particularly President Biden, to do whatever they needed to bring home Griner home. Since her return to the United States, Griner has not addressed the media or spoken in any form at length about her detainment.
However, Miami Heat star Bam Adebayo said he believed that Griner’s sharing her experience about her detainment would be a “great story” for other people to hear.
“I’m so happy for [Brittney Griner]. I’m happy BG is coming home, man. Just from knowing her from the Olympics, she’s such a sweet girl,” Adebayo said to Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald. “She doesn’t bother anybody, minds her own business and stays in her own lane. I’m really happy that she gets to come back and see her family and just be back in her own bed.
“I feel like it’s going to be hard for her to get readjusted to the world because obviously, none of us have no idea what she was going through,” she said. “Hopefully, she tells her story one day. I feel like that would be a great story for people to hear.”
LeBron & Davis Sound Off on Griner’s Return
Griner was in Russia, playing pro basketball overseas during last year’s WNBA off-season when she was detained. She was indicted on drug trafficking charges after a cartridge containing cannabis oil was found in her luggage as she was returning to the United States. She was found guilty on all charges on August 4 and sentenced to nine and a half years in a Russian prison.
After her return to the United States, Los Angeles Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis shared how happy they were to see her home in time for the holidays.
“It’s amazing — especially around the holidays — [that] she can be with her family and get back. For us, as a brotherhood and sisterhood, we welcome her with open arms and love and support and are just happy to have her back home on U.S. soil, that’s for sure,” James said to Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times on December 11.
“[It’s] amazing. Being in Russia for as long as she was, inhumane living conditions. I think they showed the bed she was living in,” Davis added. “When I first saw her, I didn’t know it was her because she cut her dreads, I don’t know if it was voluntarily or what. But it’s always good to have one of your own back.”