Steph Curry, Megan Rapinoe and more call for ‘political prisoner’ Brittney Griner to be released
Despite not being there, Brittney Griner’s presence was felt at the 2022 ESPYs, Wednesday. In February the WNBA superstar was arrested by Russian authorities in Moscow for allegedly traveling with vape cartridges filled with THC hash oil.
“It has been 153 nights now that B.G. has been wrongfully detained thousands of miles away from home, away from her family, away from her friends, away from her team,” said WNBA star Skylar Diggins-Smith.
On July 7th, the two-time gold medalist pled guilty to the drug charges and faces up to 10 years in Russian prison. However, Russia is reportedly willing to release her in exchange for the convicted Russian arms dealer known as the “Merchant of Death.”
“B.G. Deserves to be free,” Megan Rapinoe said during her acceptance speech. “She is being held as a political prisoner, obviously.”
WNBA stars Nneka Ogwumike and Diggins-Smith were among those who encouraged viewers to make their voices heard for Griner.
“The more that we say her name, the louder our voices will be,” Ogwumike said.
“The more that we see her face, the closer that we will feel to her and her to us,” reiterated Diggins-Smith.
While Griner remains detained in Russia, athletes like NBA Finals MVP Steph Curry continue to fight for her cause.
“We cannot stop fighting for her,” said Curry. “We cannot stop believing for her. We will not stop hoping for the day we can welcome her home safely. We are B.G.”
Video Transcript
[MUSIC PLAYING]
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
- First, bring BG home. Got to do that.
[CHEERING]
[END PLAYBACK]
KYLIE MAR: Despite not being there, Brittany Griner's presence was felt at the 2022 ESPYs Wednesday. In February, the WNBA superstar was arrested by Russian authorities in Moscow for allegedly traveling with vape cartridges filled with THC hash oil.
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
- It's been 153 nights now that BG has been wrongfully detained thousands of miles away from home, away from her family, away from her friends, away from her team.
[END PLAYBACK]
KYLIE MAR: On July 7, the two-time gold medallist pled guilty to the drug charges and faces up to 10 years in Russian prison. However, Russia is reportedly willing to release her in exchange for the convicted Russian arms dealer known as the "Merchant of Death."
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
- BG deserves to be free. She's being held as a political prisoner, obviously.
[END PLAYBACK]
KYLIE MAR: WNBA stars Nneka Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith were among those who encouraged viewers to make their voices heard for Griner.
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
- The more we say her name, the louder our voices will be.
- The more we see her face, the closer we'll feel to her and her to us.
[END PLAYBACK]
KYLIE MAR: While Griner remains detained in Russia, athletes like NBA Finals MVP Steph Curry continue to fight for her cause.
[VIDEO PLAYBACK]
- We cannot stop fighting for her. We cannot stop believing for her. And we will not stop hoping for the day when we can welcome her home safely.
- (ALL) We are BG.
[CHEERING]
[END PLAYBACK]
[MUSIC PLAYING]
