Brittney Griner’s WNBA Coach Says If LeBron James Was In Her Position, ‘He'd Be Home’

Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia since February, accused of transporting vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage. 

As Griner’s trial in Russia has gotten underway, there have been renewed calls for the U.S. government to assist her in getting her home. 

As previously reported on OutKick, Griner penned a letter to President Biden on Monday asking for his help in obtaining her release from a Russian prison and her safe return to the States. 

“I’m terrified I might be here forever,” she wrote in an excerpt, per ESPN. “I realize you are dealing with so much, but please don’t forget about me and the other detainees … Please do all you can to bring us home.”

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On Monday, Griner’s Phoenix Mercury head coach Vanessa Nygaard discussed Griner’s detainment, saying that if a particular NBA star was being held in Russia, he’d already be home. 

"If it was LeBron, he'd be home, right?" Nygaard said, according to USA Today Sports. "It's a statement about the value of women. It's a statement about the value of a Black person. It's a statement about the value of a gay person. All of those things. We know it, and so that's what hurts a little more."

Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House Press Secretary, was asked about Nygaard's comment on Tuesday afternoon, saying that Biden has “fought for those communities throughout his career.”

“This is a President who has put all of the things that you just laid out – the LGBTQ community, women, people of color – he has fought for those communities throughout his career, and you have seen that in policies he has put forward,” Jean-Pierre said.  

Jean-Pierre also told reporters that President Biden has read Griner’s letter, though Griner’s wife – Cherrelle Griner – has not received a response from the White House. 

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“So I can say that the President did read the letter,” Jean-Pierre said. “I was there when he read the letter. Brittney Griner being held in Moscow, we believe she’s being wrongfully detained in Moscow at this time. This is an issue that is a priority for this President, as you have heard us say before.”

 

Griner’s trial began on July 1, and the WNBA star is facing 10 years in a Russian prison if convicted. As reported by The Associated Press, “fewer than 1 percent of defendants in Russian criminal cases are acquitted.”