Brittney Griner receives standing ovation in WNBA return

Brittney Griner, regardless of being a highway opponent on Friday, obtained a standing ovation from the Los Angeles crowd on Friday evening.

Griner’s Phoenix Mercury are kicking off their season in L.A. towards the Sparks – it marks her first WNBA sport (excluding preseason) since Oct. 17, 2021 within the WNBA Finals.

“You come to work, you gotta put the whole lot apart,” Griner advised the ESPN broadcast of her feelings after the primary quarter.

Griner was arrested in February 2022 at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport after authorities found vape canisters with hashish oil in her baggage. 

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Brittney Griner #42 of the Phoenix Mercury seems to be on in the course of the sport towards the Los Angeles Sparks on Could 19, 2023, at Crypto.Com Area in Los Angeles, California.  (Adam Pantozzi/NBAE through Getty Photos)

She was sentenced to 9 years in August after pleading responsible to drug expenses however was traded for Russian arms supplier Viktor Bout in a controversial prisoner exchange in December. She arrived again on U.S. soil on Dec. 9.

Bout, who is thought internationally because the “Merchant of Death,” was serving 25 years in federal jail after he was convicted of conspiracy to kill Individuals referring to the assist of a Colombian terrorist group.

Earlier than the sport, she was paid a go to within the locker room by Vice President Kamala Harris, who spoke to each the Mercury and the Sparks collectively.

“Thanks for all that you simply did in supporting Brittney, as a result of I do know that was tough, and that was so tough for you,” Harris stated.

Griner stated she had a “harrowing expertise” in Russia.

Brittney Griner #42 of the Phoenix Mercury stands for the Nationwide Anthem previous to the sport towards the Los Angeles Sparks on Could 19, 2023 at Crypto.Com Area in Los Angeles, California.  (Adam Pantozzi/NBAE through Getty Photos)

VP HARRIS GIVES PREGAME SPEECH AHEAD OF BRITTNEY GRINER’S WNBA RETURN

“I arrived in Moscow to rejoin the UMMC Ekaterinburg basketball workforce and was instantly detained on the airport. That day was the start of an unfathomable interval in my life which solely now am I able to share,” Griner wrote in a post on Instagram. 

The WNBA posted a video of a number of Los Angeles Sparks gamers – Griner’s opponent on Friday – discussing the WNBA star n a optimistic gentle on Thursday.

“What I like about having BG again on the ground is that basketball is her protected area,” Sparks forward Chiney Ogwumike said within the video. “Rising up in Houston, Texas collectively alongside my sister, we adopted her profession intently, we supported one another, and simply to have her again, it means the world to us.”

Phoenix Mercury heart Brittney Griner (42) warms up earlier than a WNBA basketball sport towards the Los Angeles Sparks in Los Angeles, Friday, Could 19, 2023.  (AP Picture/Ashley Landis)

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Griner knocked down her first two subject objectives of the evening.