Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner returned to the WNBA Friday night for the first time since her return from Russian prison. As a result of her experience, Griner said, “I definitely want to stand,” for the national anthem.
Griner was arrested in 2022 in Russia at the Moscow Sheremetyevo Airport for having cannabis oil in vape canisters. The US State Department designated Griner as unlawfully detained, but Russian authorities gave her a nine-year prison term.
After 10 months in Russian prison, the Biden administration made a prisoner trade. A convicted Russian arms dealer named Viktor Bout was released in exchange for Griner’s freedom.
Now, after coming back to the US and rejoining the WNBA, Griner has a new perspective on the national anthem. Griner said:
Just being able to hear my national anthem, see my flag, I definitely want to stand. Now everybody that will not stand or not come out, I totally support them 100 percent. That's our right, as an American in this great country.
She added, “What I went through and everything, it just means a little bit more to me now. So I want to be able to stand.”
Back in 2020, Griner had pledged to protest in support of Black Lives Matter, staying in the locker room for the national anthem. At the time, she said, “I’m not going to be out there for the national anthem. If the league continues to want to play it, that’s fine. It will be all season long, I’ll not be out there.”
But Griner’s experience in Russia has given her a new appreciation for the flag. She said, “I was literally in a cage and could not stand the way I wanted to."
Vice President Kamala Harris attended at the Crypto.com Arena for Griner’s first game back. She talked with Griner and the team and tweeted:
Brittney Griner’s return to the court is an inspiration to our nation – and is a testament to her strength and courage.
However, the Biden administration has received criticism both for Griner’s release trade and Vice President Harris’s attendance at the game.
Paul Whelan, a former marine, has been falsely imprisoned in Russia since 2018. At the time of Griner’s release, many people criticized the administration for making a deal for her, but not Whelan, who is still in Russia serving a 16-year prison sentence.
Many conservatives also expressed criticism for Kamala Harris’s appearance at the game while Washington is facing urgent budget issues:
Kamala Harris spent her evening with Brittney Griner at a WNBA game in California instead of staying in Washington for budget negotiations.
With just days to go until Biden forces a default, neither the president nor the VP are in town.
Despite the Vice President’s attendance, the game was far from sold out. The arena was only half full with 10,396 fans scattered around the arena’s 20,000 capacity.
After the game, Phoenix Mercury head coach Vanessa Nygaard said she was disappointed with the fan turnout. Nygaard said, “It was great but like, honestly, come on LA. We didn’t sell out the arena for BG?”
After Brittney Griner played in her first WNBA game last night since coming home from prison in Russia, Phoenix Mercury head coach Vanessa Nygaard was angry Los Angeles didn’t sellout the arena for her return:
“How was it not a sellout??”
According to Statista, WNBA average regular season attendance has been declining since it began back in 1997. A turnout of more than 10,000 is nearly double the 2022 average game attendance of 5,600.
