Brittney Griner Featured on Washington D.C. Mural Honoring Americans Detained Abroad
July 20, 2022
Phoenix Mercury star Brittney Griner is among the people depicted on a mural in Washington, D.C., to honor Americans who are detained abroad.
NWSLPA @nwsl_playersA new mural in Washington DC featuring <a href="https://twitter.com/TheWNBPA?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TheWNBPA</a> member, <a href="https://twitter.com/brittneygriner?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@brittneygriner</a>, has been unveiled by the <a href="https://twitter.com/BOFHcampaign?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BOFHcampaign</a> ❤️ <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreBG?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreBG</a> <a href="https://t.co/G9ZP327un7">pic.twitter.com/G9ZP327un7</a>
The piece was installed with the help of the Bring Our Families Home Campaign.
Ahead of their game in D.C. against the Washington Mystics on Thursday, members of the New York Liberty, including head coach Sandy Brondello, Jocelyn Willougby, Rebecca Allen, Sami Whitcomb, Marine Johanne and Stefanie Dolson, visited the mural to show their support for Griner:
WNBPA @TheWNBPADAY 153.<br><br>Members of the <a href="https://twitter.com/nyliberty?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nyliberty</a> and Coach <a href="https://twitter.com/SBrondello?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SBrondello</a> visited the <a href="https://twitter.com/BOFHcampaign?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BOFHcampaign</a>’s mural at 3125 M Street NW today. This mural features 18 wrongfully detained US Nationals including our member, <a href="https://twitter.com/brittneygriner?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@brittneygriner</a>.<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreBG?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreBG</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BringThemHome?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BringThemHome</a><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreNotThe144WithoutBG?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreNotThe144WithoutBG</a> <a href="https://t.co/2JAa7x5dX8">pic.twitter.com/2JAa7x5dX8</a>
The seven-time All-Star has been detained for 153 days after being arrested in February at a Moscow airport. She pleaded guilty on July 7 to drug charges, though her trial remains ongoing. The U.S. State Department classified Griner as "wrongfully detained" in May.
ESPN's T.J. Quinn reported pleading guilty to drug possession and smuggling was "a strategy to help facilitate a prisoner swap that could bring Griner home, and it also was a recognition that there was no way she was going to be acquitted."
On Tuesday, President Joe Biden signed an executive order that's meant to expedite the return of Americans taken hostage or wrongfully detained abroad. The order also increases the punishments levied against those who engage in taking Americans hostage or detaining them under wrongful means.
