“I wanted to start by saying that we continue to work diligently to bring Brittney Griner home. This is an unimaginable situation for BG,” Engelbert said Monday in her opening address to reporters.
Griner, who plays for Russian powerhouse UMMC Ekaterinburg during the WNBA offseason, was arrested by Russian authorities at a Moscow airport in February and accused of smuggling significant quantities of a narcotic – a crime carrying up to 10 years in prison can.
Griner was the No. 1 pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft and is one of the all-time greatest players in the league.
“She continues to have our full support and she’s just been such a great person in the league. I can’t describe the situation she’s in more realistically,” Englebert said. “Certainly we are trying everything we can in every way, cooperating with your legal representative, your agent, elected leaders, the administration; just everyone in our ecosystem to try to find ways to get them home safely and as quickly as we can.”
Engelbert also commended the WNBA players for their patience with the process and for following the advice they received.
“I know we’re all frustrated, but we have to be patient. I know the players have followed the advice they get and we get amazingly well not to compromise their security in any way. We continue to follow that advice and keep working on it,” she said.
Two weeks ago, former WNBA superstar Lisa Leslie told the I am Athlete podcast that people in the “women’s basketball world” were told “not to make a big fuss about it so they couldn’t use (griner) as a chess piece. so to speak, in this war situation.”
Griner has been able to see her representative in Russia twice a week and can receive letters and correspondence, ESPN’s Holly Rowe reported Monday.
In mid-March, a source familiar with the situation told CNN that her legal team saw her several times a week while she was in custody and reported that she was fine. About a week later, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said an official at the US Embassy in Moscow visited Griner and found her in good condition.
On Monday, the Commissioner also expressed her personal commitment to Griner and her safe return home.
“I used to tell my daughter when she was little — and still now that she’s in her twenties — ‘I would go to the ends of the world to help you if you were ever in trouble,’ and I did say the same thing to Brittney Griner.”
Engelbert also announced that the WNBA intends to launch a philanthropic effort in all 12 markets to honor Griner ahead of the 2022 season.
“As we work hard to bring Brittney home, we will have a league-wide philanthropic initiative, led by Phoenix Mercury, honoring and modeled after BG,” Engelbert said.
“BG, for those who don’t know, started an organization in 2016 called BG’s Heart and Soul Shoe Drive. The activations we will be doing, which Mercury will direct, are meant to remind us of BG’s spirit of giving and the work she would do if she were here and certainly the work she will join us in when she returns. “
The WNBA season begins May 6th.
A Moscow court announced last month that it had extended Griner’s arrest until May 19, according to the Russian state news agency TASS. A trial date has not yet been set, a source close to the situation told CNN at the time.