Brittney Griner makes her first game after days of nightmare

Phoenix Mercury player Brittney Griner, one of the teams in the Women’s American Basketball League (WNBA), who was released after a prisoner exchange with Russia, took part in the match after a long rest.

Griner, who spent 17 minutes on the field in the preseason friendly in which his team lost 90-71 to the Los Angeles Sparks, put in a performance of 10 points and 3 rebounds.

Griner, who took the field for the first time since 2021, said: “I didn’t think I could get back on the field and get back to basketball that easily. I am very happy to be able to play again.” he used the phrases.

HE WAS ARRESTED IN RUSSIA AND BROUGHT TO THE UNITED STATES IN EXCHANGE

Griner, who was selected to the WNBA All-Star 8 times in her career and won the Olympic and world championships twice, reached the WNBA championship in 2014 at the Phoenix Mercury, where she played before.

Griner’s life changed when she was a member of the UMMC Ekaterinburg team in Russia, where she won 4 FIBA ​​Women’s Europa League and 3 Russian League Cups. Griner, who was arrested on February 17 last year when boxes of e-cigarettes containing cannabis oil were found among his belongings during a search at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport, was sentenced to nine years in prison. The arrest, which occurred at a time when relations between Washington and Moscow were delicate, remained on the agenda of international public opinion for a long time. As a result of negotiations between the two countries, Griner was taken to the US on December 9 as a result of the exchange made with the imprisoned Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Chosen among Time Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2023, Griner signed with his former team the Phoenix Mercury on February 22. (AA)