Freed after US-Russian prisoner swap, Brittney Griner re-joins Phoenix Mercury in WNBA

Freed after US-Russian prisoner swap, Brittney Griner re-joins Phoenix Mercury in WNBA

32-year-old was freed in prisoner exchange with Russian national Viktor Bout last December

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) - Freed after a US-Russian prisoner swap last December, US basketball star Brittney Griner was re-signed by the Phoenix Mercury, the WNBA team confirmed on Tuesday.

"It’s a great day for all of us to announce that Brittney Griner has officially signed to play for the Mercury in 2023. We missed BG every day that she was gone and, while basketball was not our primary concern, her presence on the floor, in our locker room, around our organization, and within our community was greatly missed," Mercury General Manager Jim Pitman said.

"... This is a special signing and today is a special day for all of us," he added.

As a Mercury player, Griner, 32, will be back at Phoenix's Footprint Center on May 21, the team confirmed.

Griner was freed in the prisoner exchange with Russian national Viktor Bout on Dec. 8, 2022.

Bout, 56, was arrested in Thailand in 2008 on charges of illegal arms deliveries, extradited to the US, and sentenced in 2012 to 25 years in prison.

US center Griner, meanwhile, was arrested in February at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport on suspicion of trying to illegally import hashish oil into Russia and sentenced to nine years behind bars.

Eight-time WNBA All-Star Griner, who helped the US women’s national basketball team win two Olympic golds (2016 and 2020) and two FIBA World Cups (2014 and 2018), played for UMMC Ekaterinburg while she was in Russia from 2014 to 2022.

She won a WNBA championship in 2014 with the Mercury.

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