A shadow of fear and sadness hangs over the campaign of the Phoenix Mercury players whose friend and teammate Brittney Griner is imprisoned in Russia.
The Mercury basketball players have gone ahead and tried to focus on the game when they can, with “BG” always on their mind.
The difficulties do not stop presenting themselves as a chain of blows to the body and the soul.
Phoenix’s big acquisition opted for a “contractual divorce” midway through the season. One of the best players in WNBA history has been injured. The team’s leading scorer has left for personal reasons. Another key player broke an Achilles’ heel in the first game of the playoffs.
It’s hard to imagine a more difficult season in any sport anywhere.
“This season I don’t think any sports club has endured everything like the Phoenix Mercury, which is totally exhausting,” said club shooting guard Sophie Cunningham.
The hardships began during the offseason.
Many WNBA players supplement their income by playing abroad, where they have lucrative contracts.
Griner had been playing in Russia since 2014 and had returned in February during a break from the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup qualifying tournaments.
Griner did not make it out of the Moscow airport. She was arrested after authorities said a search found vape cartridges containing cannabis extract in her luggage and she was facing a 10-year prison sentence in what became a highly politically charged case.
Griner had pleaded guilty to drug possession charges and was ultimately sentenced to nine years in prison. The sentence was foreseeable because in the Russian judicial system, exonerations represent less than 1% of cases in criminal trials, although the news had strong repercussions in the Mercury to the rest of the WNBA (the women’s league of the NBA).
Griner’s lawyers filed the appeal, and US authorities hope to arrange a prisoner swap to bring her to the country.
Due to Griner’s arrest, the Mercury not only lost one of their most dominant defensive players in WNBA history, it emotionally affected the rest with each news or lack of news about the case of their friend and partner.
“It’s out of our control with the BG situation and I find that the most frustrating thing,” forward Kaela Davis said. “We want to do something, but we can’t do anything and at the same time train and play. It’s frustrating”.
As they ponder Griner’s incarceration, the Mercury are off to a rocky start to the season, losing nine of their first 11 games.
There were internal tensions, including a shouting match between Diana Taurasi and Skylar Diggins-Smith, and a social media confrontation between Diggins-Smith and trainer Vanessa Nygaard.