CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA – FEBRUARY 16: Adam Silver, NBA Commissioner, talks to the media during the NBA All Star Commissioner’s Media Availability as part of the 2019 NBA All-Star Weekend at Spectrum Center on February 16, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
NBA commissioner Adam Silver says the NBA is working “side by side” with the WNBA to help bring Brittney Griner home.
Silver was asked about the NBA’s role in the Griner situation during a post-Draft Lottery interview with ESPN’s Malika Andrews on Tuesday night.
“The league — and by that I mean the WNBA and it’s brother league, the NBA — we have a huge responsibility to Brittney Griner. She’s one of our players,” he said.
“We’ve been in touch with the White House, the State Department, hostage negotiators, every level of government and also through the private sector as well,” Silver added. “Our No. 1 priority is her health and safety and making sure that she gets out of Russia.”
Griner has now been wrongfully detained by the Russian government for 89 days. She was arrested after authorities allegedly found vape cartridges containing oil derived from cannabis in her luggage at a Moscow airport back in February.
Last week, Griner’s pretrial detention period was extended one month. The 31-year-old Phoenix Mercury superstar could face up to 10 years in prison if convicted on drug smuggling charges.
While Silver, the WNBA and other U.S. officials have made it very clear they’re working hard to get Griner home, there’s been no visible progress toward doing so.
Silver says the NBA’s decision to not take a “higher profile” stance on the situation stems from advice from “experts in and out of government.”
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