The coach for the women's NBA team Phoenix Mercury has questioned why there wasn't more of a buzz as Brittney Griner made her big return to the sport.
The 32-year-old professional basketball player has been notably absent from the sport following her widely-publicized arrest and subsequent detainment in Russia last year.
Griner was originally detained at an airport in Moscow in February 2022 for possession of cannabis oil. At the time, she had been returning to Russia to finish her overseas season there when the arrest took place. In order to secure her release, the US swapped notorious terrorist Viktor Bout, who had been in a US prison for over a decade.
Following the success of the prisoner swap, Griner was able to return back home to the US just before Christmas in December last year.
Just last month Griner was finally able to participate in her first media appearance since being released, where she described her 10 months in Russian custody. "You know, I'm no stranger to hard times. Just digging deep honestly, you're going to be faced with adversities throughout your life - this was a pretty big one," she recalled, adding that she "relied" on her "hard work" to get through the ordeal.
"I know this sounds so small, but you know, dying in practice and just hard workouts, you find a way to just grind it out. Put your head down and keep moving," she added, also stating that she made sure she never stood still while in prison in Russia. "That was my thing... never get too focused on the now."
Speaking of the lessons she learned during her detainment, Griner said: "Life is short. Things can change at the stroke of a match. Appreciate every moment. Don't take it for granted, but it's so true. Once something like this happens to you, when people say that it hits home, it hits closer to you."
Given the hardship she's experienced, it was only natural that the Phoenix Mercury head coach Vanessa Nygaard expected there would be much more support for Griner when she eventually made her return to the court.
Nygaard spoke at the press conference after the Mercurys' 94-71 loss to the Los Angeles Sparks, calling out the noticeable absence of fans at the game, which took place at the Crypto.com arena. "Come on now, LA," Nygaard told reporters. "We didn't sell out the arena for [Griner]? Like, I expected more, to be honest. It was great, it was loud. But how was it not a sellout? How was it not a sellout?"
Griner told reporters that, while she was happy to get her head back in the game, she had been disappointed with her performance. "It was nice to be back on the court and in a real game and everything. The love from the fans who came out was amazing and the players. I definitely felt it and I felt it when I was there (Russia)," she said, via Fox News. "It was nice, but performance-wise, it wasn't good enough because I couldn't help the team with a dub."
The arena hosting the game has a capacity of around 19,068, but a crowd of only 10,396 people turned up. According to Fox, the Sparks' average attendance is more than 5,600. One person who did come to see Griner play was Vice President Kamala Harris, who met up with the team in the locker rooms ahead of their game.
"I know that was rough and that was so difficult for you. A team is a team, that's family," Harris said to the players, per CBS.
Griner will return home to Phoenix, Arizona, as her team prepares to battle it out against the Chicago Sky this Sunday (May 28).
