PHILADELPHIA — Throughout the 10 months that WNBA star Brittney Griner spent in detention in Russia, Dawn Staley was one of the biggest champions of getting her free.
Whether in daily campaigns on social media, many appearances in mainstream media, or games coaching South Carolina’s women’s college team, Staley has used her platforms to keep Griner’s name in the spotlight.
So it was fitting that Staley gave some of the most heartfelt reactions to the news of Griner’s release to freedom on Thursday.
“God’s grace is SUFFICIENT!” Staley wrote on Twitter. “@brittneygriner is home! I love you BG!”
Soon thereafter, Staley went on ESPN to talk about a player she coached on the 2020 U.S. Olympic team.
“I was shocked, actually,” Staley said of Griner’s release. “I cried. ... And I’m a girl from Philly, we don’t cry very easily.”
The wait, Staley said, was “almost deathlike, because she’s going through things that are unimaginable.”
The WNBA players’ union, the WNBPA — which did the most of any organization to lobby for Griner’s freedom — issued a statement praising the news and thanking fans for their advocacy.
“We, as a union, have not been whole since February 17, 2022. But, today, our 144 is complete,” the statement said in part. “We express our deepest appreciation for anyone and everyone who supported our campaign, and thank the Biden administration for its continued efforts over the past 10 months to bring BG home. Whether you signed the petition, posted on social media, wrote a letter, wore a shirt, told your friends to advocate, or called our community to action — what you did made a difference.”
WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said: “There has not been a day over the past 10 months where we all haven’t had Brittney Griner on our minds and in our hearts and that has now turned into a collective wave of joy and relief knowing that she will soon be reunited with her family, the WNBA player community, and her friends.”
The union and the league also called for the release of Paul Whelan, another U.S. citizen, who has been imprisoned in Russia on espionage charges since 2018.
Engelbert will have more to say in a news conference later Thursday.
