Brittney Griner: US government considers WNBA star wrongfully detained / News - Basketnews.com

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The WNBA will commemorate Brittney Griner with floor decals on every team’s home court, according to ESPN.

The decal will feature Griner’s initials “BG” as well as her No. 42. All 12 teams will have the decal on their home courts starting with Friday night's season opener. The Mercury open their season at home that night against the Las Vegas Aces.

The Phoenix Mercury center has been detained in Russia sinceFebruaryafter customs officials said they found hashish oil in her luggage at an airport.

The U.S. government now considers WNBA star Brittney Griner to be wrongfully detained by the Russian government, signaling a significant shift in how officials will try to get her home, sources familiar with her case told ESPN.

The officials and other sources close to Griner's case declined to say what led to the shift or whether there have been any discussions about what it would take to secure her release.

It is known that the U.S. government will no longer wait for Griner's case to play out through the Russian legal system and will seek to negotiate her return.

A State Department official sent ESPN a statement, saying, "The Department of State has determined that the Russian Federation has wrongfully detained U.S. citizen Brittney Griner. With this determination, the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens will lead the interagency team for securing Brittney Griner's release."

“As we begin the 2022 season, we are keeping Brittney at the forefront of what we do through the game of basketball and in the community,” said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “We continue to work on bringing Brittney home and are appreciative of the support the community has shown BG and her family during this extraordinarily challenging time.”

Griner was the MVP runner-up in 2021, helping the Mercury reach the WNBA Finals before falling to the Chicago Sky. She finished the season averaging 20.5 points (second in the WNBA), 9.5 rebounds, and 1.9 blocks (first in the WNBA) per game. She also scored 30 points for Team USA in the gold medal game against Japan at the Tokyo Olympics last summer.

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