PHOENIX — Sarah Douida traveled more than 5,000 miles from Paris with her partner to sit in the rafters at Footprint Center and watch Brittney Griner's home debut in person. During warmups, they sit a few rows up from the court and marvel at the Phoenix Mercury center each time she comes around. Doudia is so excited, she forgets her own age. Lea Sourribes, her girlfriend of five years, can only laugh at the mind melt.
It was the same type of loud campaign the family of U.S. Marine veteran Trevor Reed delivered. Reed came home in a prisoner swap with Russia in April 2022, a month after the family protested outside a presidential event in Texas and at the White House to receive a phone call and sit down with President Joe Biden.
If the situation suggests the arrest was on “discriminatory or arbitrary grounds,” the U.S. Department of State will look into the totality of the circumstances. If the Secretary of State decides the person is wrongfully detained, the work begins across a wide spectrum of agencies and individuals to secure a release.
“Brittney was a case example, a proof of concept, that if an American is important enough, the administration will respond to the advocacy that they have seen and do whatever they need to do to bring her home.” Griner lined up for her first tipoff in 597 days against the Los Angeles Sparks’ Chiney Ogwumike, who grew up with Griner in Houston and has played in the same circles as her for two decades. Ogwumike was grateful she and her older sister, Nneka, were able to see Griner first in a preseason game to reconnect and get out their emotions.
In Phoenix on Saturday night, a couple in the arts district spoke with a vendor about coming from Chicago to see the Sky for Griner’s first home game. Two women walked around downtown near the arena in search of where to find a new Griner jersey. “We Are BG” shirts and pins were scattered on visitors and home fans around the city. A Nike billboard featured her likeness with the script “Basketball Is Home.
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