WNBA to honor Brittney Griner with league-wide floor decals

So Brittney Griner is one of the best players in the W. N. B. A. Right now and arguably is one of the best players of all time at her position. She's a two time olympic gold medalist for the U. S. A. And again one of the most dominant center players for the U. S. And in the world. She makes about $225,000 a year base salary the W. N. B. A. But she's getting paid over a million dollars to play in Russia. So she's been doing it for a while. It's the nature of the business. Russia is one of the countries that pays well for W. N. B. A. Players. The teams are owned by either government municipalities or oligarchs over there who are willing to pay what it takes to be a winning team. It's a trophy for them. Many states, the United States, it's as easy to buy marijuana as to buy chewing gum. It's different in Russia and they have a rather conservative view of drugs and it is illegal to bring all sorts of drugs in the country including cannabis oil. There's certainly a lot of fake news coming out of Russia and we have these cases which seem fairly credible of planted drugs against other people that the regime wanted to get in trouble. So we don't know what really happened. And one thing I find a little worrisome is this extension of her preliminary holding from two months to three months because you have to go to a higher authority to get it lengthened. You're talking about five years not jail time, but a labor camp. She can be let off with less than that, like some short term community service. Or she could be deported as an undesirable alien, which would be perhaps the optimum outcome.

The WNBA will honor Phoenix's Brittney Griner with a floor decal and allow the Mercury to pay her without it counting against the team's cap, the league announced Tuesday.The All-Star center remains in Russia after being detained following her arrival at a Moscow airport on Feb. 17. Russian authorities said a search of her luggage revealed vape cartridges that allegedly contained oil derived from cannabis, which could carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. She has a hearing set for May 19.The decal will feature Griner's initials "BG" as well as her No. 42. All 12 teams will have the decal on their home courts starting with the season opener Friday night. The Mercury open their season at home that night against the Las Vegas Aces."As we begin the 2022 season, we are keeping Brittney at the forefront of what we do through the game of basketball and in the community," said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. "We continue to work on bringing Brittney home and are appreciative of the support the community has shown BG and her family during this extraordinarily challenging time."The league also approved giving the Mercury both roster and salary cap relief so that they can carry a replacement player until Griner returns home. Griner will be paid her full salary of nearly $228,000. Engelbert announced at the WNBA Draft there would be a league-wide charity initiative spearheaded by the Mercury to support Griner's philanthropic project, called BG's Heart and Sole Shoe Drive, which helps the homeless."In conjunction with the league, the other 11 teams, and those closest to BG, we will work to keep her top-of-mind as we tip the 2022 season," said Mercury Executive Vice President and GM Jim Pitman. "While we await her return, our main concern remains for her safety and well-being. Our fans will miss her impact on the court and in our community, and this gesture of including her initials on every court and our BG's Heart and Sole Shoe Drive activation in every market are for them and for her."Griner had one of her best seasons last year — the league's second-leading scorer and sixth in rebounds. She helped the Mercury reach the WNBA Finals, where they lost to the Chicago Sky.

The WNBA will honor Phoenix's Brittney Griner with a floor decal and allow the Mercury to pay her without it counting against the team's cap, the league announced Tuesday.

The All-Star center remains in Russia after being detained following her arrival at a Moscow airport on Feb. 17. Russian authorities said a search of her luggage revealed vape cartridges that allegedly contained oil derived from cannabis, which could carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. She has a hearing set for May 19.

The decal will feature Griner's initials "BG" as well as her No. 42. All 12 teams will have the decal on their home courts starting with the season opener Friday night. The Mercury open their season at home that night against the Las Vegas Aces.

"As we begin the 2022 season, we are keeping Brittney at the forefront of what we do through the game of basketball and in the community," said WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. "We continue to work on bringing Brittney home and are appreciative of the support the community has shown BG and her family during this extraordinarily challenging time."

The league also approved giving the Mercury both roster and salary cap relief so that they can carry a replacement player until Griner returns home. Griner will be paid her full salary of nearly $228,000.

Engelbert announced at the WNBA Draft there would be a league-wide charity initiative spearheaded by the Mercury to support Griner's philanthropic project, called BG's Heart and Sole Shoe Drive, which helps the homeless.

"In conjunction with the league, the other 11 teams, and those closest to BG, we will work to keep her top-of-mind as we tip the 2022 season," said Mercury Executive Vice President and GM Jim Pitman. "While we await her return, our main concern remains for her safety and well-being. Our fans will miss her impact on the court and in our community, and this gesture of including her initials on every court and our BG's Heart and Sole Shoe Drive activation in every market are for them and for her."

Griner had one of her best seasons last year — the league's second-leading scorer and sixth in rebounds. She helped the Mercury reach the WNBA Finals, where they lost to the Chicago Sky.

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