Brittney Griner

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Brittney Griner Couldn't Hold Back the Tears

Team USA player has emotional moment during the national anthem

(Newser) - Brittney Griner let the tears roll during the national anthem Sunday after Team USA won another gold medal in women's basketball . As Candace Buckner writes in the Washington Post , the 33-year-old didn't have much choice. "Because her right hand was over her heart and she held a...

At Olympics, Griner 'Head Over Heels' About Prisoner Swap

'It's a great day,' WNBA star says of Gershkovich, Whelan

(Newser) - It's been more than a year since Brittney Griner was released from a Russian prison, but Russia was definitely on her mind Thursday as news trickled in about the release of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, ex-Marine Paul Whelan, and US-Russian journalist Alsu Kurmasheva. "It's a...

Brittney Griner Blames Sentence on Panicked Packing

WNBA star says she didn't mean to take vape cartridges with cannabis oil to Russia

(Newser) - "I could just visualize everything I worked so hard for just crumbling and going away," basketball star Brittney Griner says of her arrest in Russia in 2022. Vape cartridges containing cannabis oil, which is an illegal substance in Russia, had been found in her luggage at an airport....

Brittney Griner Makes a 'Sweeping' Deal With Disney

WNBA star will tell her story in ESPN documentary, scripted series for ABC Signature

(Newser) - Practically a year to the day after she was released from a Russian prison, Brittney Griner has some big news. Deadline reports that the 33-year-old center for the Phoenix Mercury has signed a "sweeping" deal with Disney that will include not only an ESPN documentary, but also a scripted...

Brittney Griner Backs Out of 2 Games on the Road

Mercury Phoenix says WNBA star is taking a bit of a break 'to focus on her mental health'

(Newser) - Since May, Brittney Griner has been back in game mode on the basketball court with her team, the Phoenix Mercury. Now, the WNBA star is taking a bit of a break, to take a little more care of herself in the aftermath of her detention in Russia, reports CBS News...

WNBA Stars Plan New League
WNBA Stars Plan New League
Jul 6, 2023 6:10 PM CDT

WNBA Stars Plan New League

Idea is to give players an alternative to going overseas in the offseason

(Newser) - Two WNBA stars announced Thursday they're starting a new league to give players an alternative to competing overseas in the offseason. Breanna Stewart of the New York Liberty and Napheesa Collier of the Minnesota Lynx said their league, named Unrivaled, will play from January through March, while the WNBA...

WNBA Teams Can Now Take Charter Flights. There's a Catch

Allowance made after Griner harassed at airport comes with limitations on where service flies to

(Newser) - WNBA players can choose not to mix with the rest of the population anymore when flying to away games. League sources tell ESPN that teams will now be able to use a public charter service called JSX to book their flights, following an incident last weekend in which Phoenix Mercury...

'Provocateur' Harasses Griner at Airport

WNBA star accused of hating America by YouTube personality

(Newser) - A man described as a social media "provocateur" confronted WNBA star Brittney Griner at a Dallas airport Saturday, accusing her of hating America as he shouted questions at her on camera. The league as well as Griner's team, the Phoenix Mercury, said they were aware of the incident...

Brittney Griner Plays Once More, 'Just Like Old Times'

Phoenix Mercury center's WNBA preseason game was her first game since her detention in Russia

(Newser) - Brittney Griner strolled down the sideline about 1 1/2 hours before the Phoenix Mercury played Friday night, giving hugs and high-fiving her teammates, coaches, and opposing players. Then it was a little stretching, a little shooting, and a little agility work to prepare for a basketball game. Just like old...

Gershkovich Sends Message: 'I Am Humbled'
Gershkovich
Sends Message:
'I Am Humbled'
THE RUNDOWN
Apr 28, 2023 6:38 AM CDT

Gershkovich Sends Message: 'I Am Humbled'

'WSJ' reporter detained in Russia gets support from Griner, Biden, 3 big US newspapers

(Newser) - Last week, the world caught a glimpse of detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in a Moscow courtroom, looking calm as he stood in a glass cage and heard that his appeal to be released while awaiting an investigation into the spying charges against him was turned down. Now,...

Brittney Griner: I'm Not Leaving US Soil Again

WNBA star says the only exception is if it's for Team USA

(Newser) - Brittney Griner held her first press conference Thursday since being freed from Russian detention in December, and she made a pledge few could fault: "I'm never going overseas to play again unless I'm representing my country at the Olympics," the WNBA star told reporters in Phoenix,...

Brittney Griner Returns to Familiar Territory

WNBA star signs with Phoenix of the WNBA after being released from detention in Russia

(Newser) - Brittney Griner is headed back to the world of pro basketball. Griner signed a one-year deal with the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury to play in the upcoming season, reports the AP . The 32-year-old missed all of the 2022 season after a 10-month ordeal in Russia that included time in a...

Russia Releases Another Detained American

Case of Taylor Dudley hadn't been widely known

(Newser) - Russia has released a US Navy veteran who'd been detained for nine months, reports the Washington Post . The name Taylor Dudley of Lansing, Michigan, may not ring a bell, however, because the 35-year-old's family had largely kept his case under the public radar, per CNN . Former New Mexico...

Cherelle Griner: We Were 'Instantly Crying' on Reunion

She talks to 'People' about Brittney Griner's homecoming, their next steps

(Newser) - Cherelle and Brittney Griner are spending the holidays together at their home in Arizona—and it's a moment that seemed impossibly distant at times during the 294 days Brittney Griner was detained in Russia. Cherelle Griner tells People that when she saw her wife's face through a window...

Brittney Griner Wants You to Send Paul Whelan a Letter

WNBA wants people who supported her to do the same for other detained Americans

(Newser) - Letters from supporters ensured Brittney Griner "never lost hope" during 10 months in Russian detention—and she hopes they'll do the same for Paul Whelan. "I hope you'll join me in writing to Paul Whelan and continuing to advocate for other Americans to be rescued and...

Griner Posts Her First Message to Fans

'Feels so good to be home!' wrote WNBA star, who says she'll play for Phoenix Mercury this season

(Newser) - Now that she's got that first dunk out of her system, Brittney Griner is finally heading to her home in Arizona. The WNBA star, who flew back to the United States on Dec. 9 after being released by Russia in a prisoner swap, has spent the past week in...

Trump: I Turned Down Trading Bout for Whelan

US and Russia plan to discuss American's release this week

(Newser) - Former President Trump said Sunday that he rejected a Russian prisoner trade that would have freed American Paul Whelan. In a post on Truth Social, the Hill reports, Trump said the price—the US release of notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout—was too high. "I turned down a deal...

Brittney Griner Makes a Fitting First Move

WNBA star dunks in light basketball workout

(Newser) - Brittney Griner still hasn't addressed the public since her release from prison in Russia, but ESPN reports a nice development in her journey back to normalcy: She's dunking basketballs again. Griner's agent tells the outlet that the WNBA star worked out on a basketball court for the...

What Happened on Brittney Griner's Long Ride Home

'I have been in prison for 10 months now, listening to Russian. I want to talk.'

(Newser) - WNBA star Brittney Griner didn't want any alone time as soon as she boarded a US government plane that would bring her home. "I have been in prison for 10 months now, listening to Russian. I want to talk," Griner said, according to Roger Carstens, the special...

Griner in 'Very Good Spirits,' as Viktor Bout Slams US

WNBA star has been reunited with her wife in Texas

(Newser) - No new photographs or video emerged Friday afternoon of Brittney Griner, but the newly freed athlete has been reunited with her wife and appears to be in good health after 10 months in custody in Russia.
  • “She has been reunited with her wife, Cherelle," said White House press
...

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