Sports World Reacts to Brittney Griner's Russian Prison Release

Griner was first detained in February and has remained in custody for seven months before being sentenced

By Marsha Green • •

NBCUniversal Media, LLC

WNBA star Brittney Griner was arrested and detained in Russia on Feb. 17. Here is a timeline of events that led to her arrest and what has happened since.

Sports world reacts to Brittney Griner’s Russian prison release originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago

Brittney Griner's 294-day detainment in Russia has finally come to an end. 

📺 Watch News4 now: Stream NBC4 newscasts for free right here, right now.

The 32-year-old WNBA star was released to the United States in a prisoner swap on Thursday, U.S. officials confirmed. This comes four months after Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison for drug possession and smuggling charges.

We've got the news you need to know to start your day. Sign up for the First & 4Most morning newsletter — delivered to your inbox daily. Sign up here.

Griner – who, for years, had played in the off-season for a Russian women’s basketball team, the UMMC Ekaterinburg - was first detained in February and remained in custody for seven months before finally being sentenced. But now, Griner is back in U.S. custody and on her way home to her hometown of Texas.

The sports world was filled with joy when the news of Griner's release broke and many took to social media to share their relief and excitement:

Sports

NCAA basketball

Kiyan Anthony, Carmelo's son, commits to play basketball at dad's alma mater

NBA

NBA reportedly discussing this All-Star Game format change for 2025

https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS negotiated a "one-for-one" prisoner swap.

Thank you to President Biden, and to all those who worked so hard to secure her freedom.— Billie Jean King (@BillieJeanKing)
https://twitter.com/hashtag/WEAREBG?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WEAREBG https://t.co/Ltx4PEFqAK— Brianna Turner (@_Breezy_Briii)

Other WNBA stars also added their support for Griner's release:

Griner's wife Cherelle spoke at the White House following the news of Griner's release.

“For the last nine months you all have been so privy for one of the darkest moments of my life,” Cherelle said at the White House. “Today my family is whole, but as you're all aware, there are so many families that are not whole. [Brittney] and I will remain committed to the work of getting every American home, including Paul.”

The “Paul” Cherelle refers to is Paul Whelan, a U.S. citizen and former Marine detained at a Moscow hotel in December 2018 and arrested on espionage charges. President Biden has attempted to include Whelan in the swap but it was not accepted by the Russian government.

“We never forgot about Brittney. We haven’t forgotten about Paul Whelan,” Biden said about Whelan. “While we have not yet succeeded in securing Paul’s release, we have not given up. We will never give up.”

Dallas Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons took to Twitter to speak on Griner's release and his shock that Whelan was not released as well, but it was met with disappointment from many on social media:

He later cleared up his previous tweet and added that he is happy Griner is home but his initial tweet was tweeted "out of emotion" for his family that has served.

Many sports analysts tweeted their support for Griner as well:

Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr took to social media to send Griner a personal video message, on behalf of himself and the Warriors organization, welcoming her back home. 

Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Barack Obama also added their thoughts:

https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS’ commitment to bring home every U.S. citizen wrongfully detained anywhere in the world.— Vice President Kamala Harris (@VP)
https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS and his administration for the difficult diplomatic work involved to make it happen. We’re looking forward to having Brittney back home. https://t.co/G5yKliRoxd— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) Read More