Photo by EVGENIA NOVOZHENINA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Stephen Curry and other athletes took Griner’s birthday as an opportunity to bring more awareness to her situation.
Tuesday was Brittney Griner’s 32nd birthday. She has been wrongfully incarcerated in a Russian prison for 243 days and counting.
It’s been a long, brutal, and unfair imprisonment that has taken Griner away from her teammates, friends, and family for almost an entire calendar year. And while we can’t directly help her, each of us can try and make sure her story doesn’t fall into the black hole of the daily news grind.
Stephen Curry took a moment before the Warriors’ Opening Night game against the Los Angeles Lakers to send a message about Griner and remind everyone that she is still stuck in a Russian jail.
“Brittney Griner’s birthday is today. She’s 32 years old. We want to continue to let her name be known, and we pray – it’s been 243 days since she’s been wrongfully incarcerated in Russia- we hope that she comes home soon and that everybody’s doing their part to bring her home.”
“Brittney Griner’s birthday is today, she’s 32 years old.”
Steph gave BG a shoutout during the Dub’s ring ceremony. She’s been wrongfully incarcerated in Russia for 243 days. pic.twitter.com/dCh0SvxZUl
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 19, 2022
One of basketball’s top stars has been wrongfully detained for 243 days, and yet, in the fast-paced, short-form world we live in, too many people seem to have forgotten about her. Curry made sure to put the message front and center on the biggest stage.
Other athletes such as Jaden Ivey of the Detroit Pistons, former NFL quarterback and Baylor alum Robert Griffin III, and WNBA players Shey Peddy, Nneka Ogwumike, and Breanna Stewart, among others, all took to Twitter to speak out on Griner’s birthday, too.
Griner responded via her lawyer today with a short, thankful message.
“Thank you everyone for fighting so hard to get me home. All the support and love are definitely helping me.”
It’s hard to really fathom how difficult this must be for Griner and her family and friends.
In August, Griner was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison, a sentence that she fears she could be forced to serve in full. A report on Oct. 12 indicated that Griner is skeptical of the United States’ ability to secure her release. Griner’s lawyer revealed that she is “worried about what the price of that will be.”
The United States’ relationship with Russia isn’t in a great place, and the current war in Ukraine has only made things even more difficult to navigate. Because of that, Griner is seemingly being used as a political prisoner.
Back in June, it was reported that Joe Biden and the United States government made a prisoner-swap offer to Russia in an attempt to bring Griner and former US Marine Paul Whelan home. And at the beginning of October, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Bill Richardson said that there’s a chance the two could be free by the end of the year.
Richardson noted that he is “cautiously optimistic” about the negotiations and that he got the sense that Russian officials were “ready to talk” when he visited Moscow in September.
All that being said, there is no immediate indication that Griner will be freed anytime soon. Until then, the best thing to do is speak up. Don’t forget about BG. And for the NBA, there’s never been a better reason to use their platforms and try to make something happen.
So happy birthday, BG. Hopefully it won’t be long until you’re back home where you belong.
