Three-time WNBA Champion Penny Taylor used her induction into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame to call for the release of Brittney Griner, who’s been wrongly detained in Russia for 116 days, per the U.S. State Department.
Taylor called upon President Joe Biden and the U.S. Government to safely bring Griner home from Russia after the two-time Olympic gold medalist was detained on Feb. 17 for possessing vape cartridges containing hashish oil.
“BG is our family,” Taylor said at Saturday’s induction. “She’s yours too. The entire global sport(s) community needs to come together to insist that she be a priority.”
Taylor and Griner, along with Taylor’s wife, Diana Taurasi, were teammates on the Phoenix Mercury squad that won a WNBA Championship in 2014.
Two-time WNBA Champion and current Old Dominion Coach DeLisha Milton-Jones, along with DePaul Coach Doug Bruno, also demanded action for Griner, who has garnered national support.
“Brittney is a great human being, and no one deserves what she is going through,” Bruno, who coached Griner as an assistant with Team USA, said. “Enough is absolutely enough. It is time for the powers that be to bring Brittney Griner home.”
The support for Griner to be released back into the United States has grown, but she remains detained in Russia.
