Brittney Griner’s coach lashed out at the star player’s ongoing incarceration in Russia.
Speaking with reporters on Monday, Vanessa Nygaard, head coach of the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, posited that Griner would be back in the US by now if she were NBA superstar LeBron James.
“If it was LeBron, he’d be home, right?” Nygaard asked. “It’s a statement about the value of women. It’s a statement about the value of a black person. It’s a statement about the value of a gay person. All of those things. We know it, and so that’s what hurts a little more.”
Griner has been jailed in Russia since she was arrested at the airport in mid-February and accused of possessing cannabis vape cartridges. In May, the U.S. government determined that she is being wrongfully detained.
Monday, Griner wrote an open letter to President Joe Biden, urging him to take action to secure the release of herself and other American prisoners in Russia.
“Please do all you can to bring us home,” Griner wrote. “I voted for the first time in 2020 and I voted for you. I believe in you.”
“As I sit here in a Russian prison, alone with my thoughts and without the protection of my wife, family, friends, Olympic jersey, or any accomplishments, I’m terrified I might be here forever.”
She continued with a reflection about Independence Day.
“On the 4th of July, our family normally honors the service of those who fought for our freedom, including my father who is a Vietnam War Veteran,” she wrote. “It hurts thinking about how I usually celebrate this day because freedom means something completely different to me this year.”
Asked about the letter on Tuesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre affirmed that Biden had read it and that Griner’s return is an important issue for the administration.
“The president did read the letter,” the press secretary said. “This is an issue that is a priority for this president. … We believe she is wrongfully detained. We believe she needs to come home.”
