100 days after she was wrongly imprisoned in Russia, her teammates spoke about her absence. There is a time and a place for it.
She cannot play with her teammates. She is unable to call them. She is capable of writing.
During her time in Russia, Griner has been able to receive emails and letters from her teammates. Hundreds of emails have been sent by players to an account set up for them to communicate with her
It's not easy, because the emails are printed out and delivered in batches to her by her lawyer after they're approved by Russian officials. If she doesn't have a paper, she'll either dictate a response or take a photo of it.
When she sent an email a few months ago, she didn't think she'd get a reply.
She replied to my second letter and blew me away. I asked her if she responded. I wrote to my best friend, "Hey best friend, we are officially best friends now.''
The two-time Olympic gold medalist remains in the view of U.S. officials, who wrongly held her in Russia.
The woman was taken into custody for 105 days after her luggage was found to contain oil from cannabis.
Every few weeks, Zahui B. sends a note to the Mercury center. Many other players have also done that.
Liberty center Stefanie Dolson said that they don't want her to think that she's lost.
Diana Taurasi sent a hand-written letter to her Mercury teammates.
Lindsay Kagawa Colas said the letters were a way for the center to stay in touch with her family in the league.
Some players just pray for her release and think about her. Some people send personal notes.
She makes fun of herself in her letters. I'm not sure how she does it with what she is going through. She's an amazing person. She helps illuminate a situation like this. A lot of people wouldn't be able to do that.
Zahui B., who joked that she tends to ramble, sent a daily update on her activities, such as getting her nails done or eating lunch.
She got to know her better over time since they both played in the NBA and Europe. When Zahui B's mom was battling breast cancer and received support from a video sent to her by Griner, she was 60 years old.
When the center told her she was changing her number to 42, she signed it "from 42 to 42''.
Other players say it's hard to find the right words to write a letter.
The maximum penalty for drug smuggler is 10 years in prison. Another American is being held in Russia. The family of the man who was sentenced to 16 years in prison for espionage says the charges against him are false.
An unexpected prisoner exchange involving a convicted Russian drug trafficker serving a long prison sentence in America resulted in the release of a marine veteran who had been jailed in Russia for nearly three years.
The Biden administration said last month that a man is being wrongly imprisoned. She was held for another month until June.
It's difficult. It's very sensitive and you don't want to offend anyone. You don't want to remind her that it is a sad situation. She is happy to hear anything from anyone.
Every couple of weeks the union sends out a text to the players reminding them to reach out to the player through the email account. The account is closed to the public in order to keep it manageable.
Sandy was able to email her former player a few days ago.
"I'm going to let her know that I love her and that I'm thinking about her,'' he said. It's terrible, that's my girl. She has been there a long time.
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