© 2025 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Brittney Griner signs a one-year contract with the Phoenix Mercury

Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi, left, high-fives teammate Brittney Griner during a 2014 WNBA basketball game in Phoenix. Griner plans to return to the Mercury on a one-year contract.
Matt York
/
AP
Phoenix Mercury guard Diana Taurasi, left, high-fives teammate Brittney Griner during a 2014 WNBA basketball game in Phoenix. Griner plans to return to the Mercury on a one-year contract.

Updated February 21, 2023 at 1:46 PM ET

Brittney Griner is headed back to the Phoenix Mercury for her 10th season after signing a one-year contract, the WNBA team announced Tuesday.

The 32-year-old Griner had said in December that she planned to return to her professional career with Phoenix. That promise was made in her first social media post after she returned home from her 10-month imprisonment in Russia.

"We missed BG every day that she was gone and, while basketball was not our primary concern, her presence on the floor, in our locker room, around our organization, and within our community was greatly missed," said Jim Pitman, the team's general manager, in a statement.

The 6-foot-9 center was arrested last year at an airport outside of Moscow after authorities found cannabis oil in her possession. Russia prohibits the use of cannabis, according to the Associated Press. The State Department said she was wrongfully detained following her arrest.

At the time, Griner was traveling in Russia to start a season of professional basketball. (WNBA athletes often play overseas during the off-season to supplement their incomes because of gender pay disparities with their NBA colleagues.) Her detention caused her to miss the entire 2022 WNBA season.

Her ordeal ended in a high-stakes prisoner exchange in December. It had been unclear what her future with the WNBA would be after her detention.

Griner has played with the Mercury since she was drafted No. 1 by the team back in 2013 after graduating from Baylor University. She is considered one of the best WNBA players of all time. She is an eight-time All-Star, a two-time scoring leader and one of just 11 players to have won an Olympic, World Cup, WNBA and NCAA title.

The WNBA's next season starts on May 19. The Mercury are scheduled to play against the Los Angeles Sparks.

Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Jaclyn Diaz is a reporter on Newshub.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT is an initiative from Connecticut Public, the state’s local NPR and PBS station, to elevate Latino stories and expand programming that uplifts and informs our Latino communities. Visit CTPublic.org/latino for more stories and resources. For updates, sign up for the SOMOS CONNECTICUT newsletter at ctpublic.org/newsletters.

SOMOS CONNECTICUT es una iniciativa de Connecticut Public, la emisora local de NPR y PBS del estado, que busca elevar nuestras historias latinas y expandir programación que alza y informa nuestras comunidades latinas locales. Visita CTPublic.org/latino para más reportajes y recursos. Para noticias, suscríbase a nuestro boletín informativo en ctpublic.org/newsletters.

The independent journalism and non-commercial programming you rely on every day is in danger.

If you’re reading this, you believe in trusted journalism and in learning without paywalls. You value access to educational content kids love and enriching cultural programming.

Now all of that is at risk.

Federal funding for public media is under threat and if it goes, the impact to our communities will be devastating.

Together, we can defend it. It’s time to protect what matters.

Your voice has protected public media before. Now, it’s needed again. Learn how you can protect the news and programming you depend on.

Related Content