While pleading guilty, Griner said she made an “honest mistake” and didn’t realize the vape cartridges were in her bag. She played for the Russian squad UMMC Ekaterinburg during the WNBA offseasons.
The Mercury signed Griner, 32, to a one-year contract worth $165,100, per HerHoopsStats.com, although the deal had not been announced as of Saturday night. He missed the 2022 season but averaged 20.5 points and a career-high 9.5 rebounds in 2021 while helping the Mercury to the WNBA Finals, where they lost to the Chicago Sky in four games. She spent her entire WNBA career with the Mercury, making her the No. 1 draft pick in 2013 and claimed the WNBA title a year later.
The signing further strengthens the Mercury’s roster – and guard Diana Taurasi signed on Saturday to spend a 19th season with the Phoenix. The 40-year-old is the league’s all-time leading scorer, but the end of his career is near. However, the Mercury bring back a core of Taurasi, Griner, Skylar Diggins-Smith and Sophie Cunningham.
Griner’s return puts WNBA travel practices back in the spotlight; after his imprisonment in Russia, he is expected to have to take private flights for security reasons. WNBA rules do not allow teams to charter private flights, a point of contention for the players’ union. President Biden has also been criticized for releasing Bout, who was arrested in 2008 and sentenced to 25 years in 2012 for supporting terrorism and conspiring to kill Americans.
“It is through adversity that character is revealed, and over the past nine months, we have seen the best of many,” Griner’s agent, Lindsay Kagawa Colas, said in a statement following his release. “At the top of the list are BG and President Biden. Throughout this ordeal, BG carried himself with courage, grace and hard work; and President Biden promised us, and then kept his word and did what was necessary to bring him home. We are forever grateful that he followed through on that commitment.”
Griner became a household name during his incarceration. WNBA players did what they could to keep her in the news, urging Biden to bring her home and counting the days she was locked up. The basketball community celebrated his release two months ago, and now he is in line to return to the court this spring.
“I’ve been very fortunate to be around BG in both basketball and social settings and enjoyed spending time with him,” Washington Mystics General Manager Mike Thibault said after his release. “His energy and zest for life have always been amazing, and it’s great to know he’s free from this nightmare and will be reunited with his wife, family and friends.”
