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Brittney Griner’s return to the WNBA this past weekend was filled with much-deserved fanfare, star power and, despite not being able to play for nearly a year, impressive performances by the Phoenix Mercury center.
The Mercury lost both outings — away at the Los Angeles Sparks, then at home against the Chicago Sky — but that was almost beside the point. Griner was back, playing well if not at her peak, defying odds that were heavily stacked against her.
By now we all are familiar with her ordeal. Griner was detained in February 2022 at an airport near Moscow and was found to have vape cartridges that contained hashish oil. She was convicted of drug charges, sentenced and ordered to a notorious penal colony where she spent months before being released last December in a controversial prisoner swap.
Griner announced shortly after her release that she planned to play in the Mercury’s upcoming season. Her decision was met with surprise and probably a little skepticism as well, considering what she had been through.
Her return to the court has broader implications than merely representing the strength of the human spirit — though that shouldn’t be downplayed, given the hardships Griner had to overcome to suit up again. (She’s planning to write a memoir, expected sometime next year, about her ordeal in Russia.)
Digging a little deeper, Griner’s presence also offers a powerful reminder of the disparities between the NBA and WNBA. The fact that her arrest in Russia was linked to her participation in a more lucrative basketball league there provides a very clear example of what professional female athletes feel they need to go through just to ensure a fair salary.
Griner has single-handedly catapulted the leagues’ inequality to the forefront. The WNBA’s inability to match the NBA in salaries, travel and season length, among other things, is now broadly known, and with no clear solution.
Despite the draw of Griner’s presence as well as celebrity-filled atmospheres, for example, neither Mercury game was sold out. In Los Angeles, this drew the notice of head coach Vanessa Nygaard, who lamented the lack of fans at the Crypto.com Arena.
According to The New York Times, the Sparks-Mercury matchup was also overshadowed by scheduling conflicts: Instead of airing on ESPN as originally planned, the broadcast started late and was bumped to ESPN2 due to a professional hockey playoff game that went into overtime.
The WNBA’s commissioner, Cathy Engelbert, later said that team schedules were set before the league knew Griner would be released and back on the court.
The Mercury’s first home game drew more attendees to the Footprint Center; though it wasn’t a full house it was still rowdier than in Los Angeles, which as the team’s home base shouldn’t be a surprise.
Still, these are more signs of the disappointing truth that women’s sports continue to lack the clout of men’s sports. It remains to be seen if Griner has created the momentum needed for real change, but at least now there appears to be a conversation about the need for it.
There’s also a political aspect to Griner’s presence, one that speaks to the need to focus on Americans detained overseas and try to secure their release.
Griner has said that among her activities now would be advocacy on the behalf of other detained Americans, such as Paul Whelan who remains in Russia. His exclusion from the December prisoner swap has raised his profile even further and weighed heavily on Griner as well. After her release she posted an appeal to fans to write to Whelan as a show of support.
(Russia also recently arrested another American, Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, and like with other detainees shows no inclination to negotiate his release.)
Griner was already an ambassador for the sport before her ordeal; now, despite the harrowing reason why, she is a symbol of much more.
Reach Celia K. Downes at cdownes@staradvertiser.com.
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