Comment UNCASVILLE, Conn. — Began with a few isolated shouts of “BG!” echoed throughout Mohegan Sun Arena during a 42-second moment of silence for Brittney Griner, the WNBA star sentenced Thursday to 9½ years in prison in Moscow. The time slot matched Griner’s jersey number. No. 42 missed another game here as her team, the Phoenix Mercury, lost 77-64 to the Connecticut Sun. Soon the scattered shouts became a loud chant of “Bring her home!” he repeated a dozen times, bursting into the silence. In the stands, fans joined hands. in center court, the teams did the same. The 42 seconds were up then. But the plight of Griner, who has been held in Russia since being charged with trafficking vapor cartridges containing cannabis, remained in focus here. The decision did not surprise legal analysts who have followed the case and are familiar with the Russian criminal justice system, but it continues to trouble people inside and outside the arena. It was “a really emotional day for our whole team, but we know we weren’t pinning our hopes on the Russian legal system,” Mercury coach Vanessa Nygaard told reporters before the game. “We just want her home.” Mercury star Skylar Diggins-Smith said reporters’ questions about our “real friend” languishing behind bars “just add to our trauma.” “No one even wanted to play today,” Diggins-Smith said. On the stand, Ellyn Ruthstrom, of Melrose, Mass., said she and her partner, Kara Ammon, spoke about the particular dangers Griner faces in Russia when they heard about the verdict earlier Thursday. “We were just talking about how horrible it is for a gay woman of color” to be imprisoned in Russia, Ruthstrom said. “He’s a political pawn.” Ammon and Ruthstrom praised the WNBA for keeping Griner’s plight in the spotlight. As news of the conviction spread, messages of “Free BG” echoed on Twitter and among sports stars. Atlanta Dream’s Erica Wheeler tweeted: “My heart goes out to BG’s family and wife! Today hit a slightly different guy like it’s our sister! I can’t even imagine how her family feels! I pray that God will protect her mentally, but most importantly she will continue to fight BG. …I have to bring you home!” Lexie Brown, who plays for the Los Angeles Sparks, tweeted: “Anyone who goes back to Russia to play is crazy.” He added, “it breaks my heart to see her right now.” The commissioners of the NBA and WNBA shared a joint statement. “Today’s verdict and sentence is unjustified and unfortunate, but not unexpected, and Brittney Griner remains wrongfully incarcerated,” said Adam Silver and Cathy Engelbert. “The commitment of the WNBA and the NBA to her safe return has not wavered, and we are hopeful that we are nearing the end of this process to finally bring BG home to the United States.” Speaking on August 4, WNBA superstar Brittney Griner said she had no intention of violating Russian law after a small amount of cannabis oil was found in her bags. (Video: The Washington Post) Terri Carmichael Jackson, executive director of the National Women’s Basketball Association, called the decision “unfair. It’s a terrible blow. Whatever talks [Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken] and its Russian counterpart must have, we believe they have with all deliberate speed. Because the time has come. It’s just time.” Elizabeth Rudd, the US Embassy’s deputy chief of mission in Moscow, called Griner’s conviction and sentence a “miscarriage of justice.” He spoke briefly, saying: “Secretary Blinken, President Biden’s national security team and the entire US administration remain committed to bringing Ms. Griner home safely to her family and friends.” Biden called for her immediate release, saying: “Today, American citizen Brittney Griner received a prison sentence that is yet another reminder of what the world already knew: Russia is wrongfully holding Brittney. It is unacceptable and I call on Russia to release her immediately to be with her wife, loved ones, friends and teammates.” I can’t play with people’s lives like that. Sickening. Lord, cover Brittney and her family. FREE BG ‼️ — Arike Ogunbowale (@Arike_O) August 4, 2022 Lindsay Kagawa Colas, Griner’s agent, called for a deal to be “quickly made” for her release and noted that American Paul Whelan is serving a 16-year sentence in Russia. He and Griner have been reported as part of a prisoner exchange. “Today’s sentencing of Brittney Griner was severe by Russian legal standards and proves what we’ve known all along, that Brittney is being used as a political pawn,” Colas said. “We appreciate and continue to support his efforts [Biden and Blinken] to quickly make a deal to bring Brittney, Paul and all the Americans home. Bringing Brittney and Paul home is the only goal, and as such, we’ll have to use every tool available. We must remain focused and united. This is a time of compassion and shared understanding that reaching an agreement to bring Americans home will be difficult, but it is urgent and the right thing to do.” “BG is American. BG is an Olympian. BG is an ALL-STAR. BG is a daughter, a wife, a friend,” Cari Champion, a former ESPN anchor, tweeted. “BG is American. BG IS IN A CAGE. BG is ours. Bring her home.” The Reverend Al Sharpton, president and founder of the National Action Network, called Griner a “political pawn” and continued to request permission for a delegation of clergy to visit Griner to assess her health. “Sentencing Brittney Griner to nine years in prison is a moral affront and a legal atrocity in any court in the world. In most places, including the United States, what he pleaded guilty to and was charged with would not even amount to a misdemeanor. It is a shameful and dark day when world athletics is subject to politics rather than due process,” Sharpton said. “Let’s not forget Brittney Griner not only entertained and won the hearts of many Americans, but for seven years she entertained and won the hearts of many Russians while playing basketball there. That’s why her basketball coach and her teammates came and testified. She and Paul Whelan are clearly pawns in some global political chess game that has nothing to do with them. They should be released immediately.” Free BG… lets fight for her!!!!!!! — MeekMill (@MeekMill) August 4, 2022 At first, negotiations for Griner’s release were conducted quietly, but the passage of time led to more public calls for her release. Griner’s wife, Sherrell, is calling on Biden to take action, and the State Department re-charged Griner as an “unlawful detainer” in May. A two-time Olympic gold medalist and perennial all-star with the Mercury, Griner played for UMMC Ekaterinburg during the WNBA offseasons and called Yekaterinburg her “second home” on Thursday. Moved by her relationship with her teammates and the growing popularity of the sport among young girls, she explained through tears, “That’s why I kept coming back.” The focus now turns to negotiations for Griner’s release, which have been complicated by a frozen relationship between the United States and Russia amid its invasion of Ukraine. Last week, Blinken spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and urged him to accept a deal with Griner and Whelan. Whelan, who was arrested in 2018 and convicted of espionage in 2020, said he was trapped. The United States has not said whether it would offer Russian Viktor Bout, an arms dealer arrested in a US sting operation in Thailand in 2008, in exchange for his release. Cindy Boren reported from Washington. Steven Burkholder reported from Connecticut.