Adam Silver Says NBA Working With “Every Level of Government” for Release of WNBA’s Brittney Griner

Don PalumboMay 20, 2022

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced Tuesday that the league is working with “hostage negotiators” and “every level of government” for the release of WNBA center and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner. The WNBA star has sat for nearly four months in a Russian prison after being charged with drug trafficking.

Silver’s recent moves come after the U.S government upgraded Griner’s case to the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs on May 3, which has encouraged Griner’s supporters, because this means the Biden administration could be taking the case seriously and will hopefully amp up efforts to bring her home.

“It is time for her to come home,” president of the WNBA players’ union, Nneka Ogwumike, said in a statement. “Having learned that the U.S. government has now determined that BG is being wrongfully detained we are hopeful that their efforts will be significant, swift and successful.”

Silver and the NBA have not taken any aggressive action on Griner’s imprisonment up to this point on the advice of government “experts,” Silver explained to ESPN. “Part of our decision to not to take a higher profile here, frankly, came at the suggestion of experts in and out of government who felt the best path to getting Brittney out was not to amplify the issue,” Silver told NBA Today host Malika Andrews during the NBA Draft Lottery:

The league — and by that, both the WNBA and its brother league, the NBA — we have a huge responsibility to Brittney. Griner is one of our players. … We’ve been in touch with the White House, the State Department, hostage negotiators, every level of government and also through the private sector as well. … Our number one priority is her health and safety and making sure that she gets out of Russia.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver weighs in on the league’s role in ensuring Brittney Griner’s safe return to the United States. pic.twitter.com/QsOCb4fgEs

— Malika Andrews (@malika_andrews) May 18, 2022

Griner’s attorney, Alexander Boykov, announced Friday that the WNBA player’s pre-trial detention was extended for another month. Griner’s trial was originally scheduled to begin May 19. Griner, 31, faces 10 years in Russian prison if convicted.

Silver assured fans that Cathy Engelbert, the commissioner of the WNBA, “is on this issue every single day.”

“I’m working side-by-side with her,” Silver said of Engelbert.

Silver encouraged fan activism in his statement to ESPN, saying, “There’s an enormous role for the public to play through protests or letting their representatives know how strongly they feel about this.”

A petition started in May has raised more than 137,000 signatures, with the goal of “demanding that lawmakers prioritize Griner’s return,” and asking the Biden administration to “take action today — doing whatever is necessary — to bring Brittney Griner home swiftly and safely.” The petition includes an email and phone number for the White House for further action.

Secure Brittney Griner’s Swift and Safe Return to the U.S. – Sign the Petition! https://t.co/FJFuWIY2ox via @Change

— dawnstaley (@dawnstaley) May 14, 2022

According to reports, a consular official was able to meet with Griner last week, but the U.S. State Department complained on Tuesday that the “sporadic contact” they have been allowed by Russian officials is not acceptable, and it is pushing for more regular contact with the WNBA player. The State Department also hinted that Russia may have broken international treaty rules.

“That consular official came away with the impression that Brittney Griner is doing as well as might be expected under conditions that can only be described as exceedingly difficult,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said. “But sporadic contact is not satisfactory. It also may not be consistent with the Vienna Convention to which Russia has subscribed.”