CELEBRITY
Brittney Griner Makes Surprise Appearance At MLK March In Phoenix, AZ
WNBA star and Olympic Gold medalist Brittney Griner made a surprise appearance at the MLK March in Phoenix, Ariz., on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, about a month after being released from Russian prison.
Photos shared by YouTuber @TWOTIMESS show Griner smiling and shaking hands with him at the event.
The Phoenix Mercury center spent 10 months in Russian prison, missing the 2022 WNBA season, but plans to play in 2023.
Griner was traveling to Russia to play for the Russian Premier League basketball team UMMC Ekaterinburg during the WNBA offseason when she was stopped at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport for carrying a cannabis vape pen and taken into custody on Feb. 17, 2022.
In a handwritten message after her return to the U.S., Griner thanked her supporters for their help writing letters and working to secure her release.
“Your letters were also bigger than uplifting me. They showed me the power of collective hands. Together, we can do hard things. I am living proof of that,” she wrote.
Griner also called on supporters to keep up the effort for other Americans detained in Russia, including Paul Whelan, the former U.S. marine imprisoned on espionage charges.
Those families stood alongside you and all who supported the #WeAreBG campaign to bring me home, and it’s our turn to support them,” she wrote. “I hope you’ll join me in writing to Paul Whelan and continuing to advocate for other Americans to be rescued and returned to their families.
