American Brittney Griner, who was released from a Russian penal colony last December as part of a prisoner swap, has signed a one-year contract to play for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, ESPN reported on Saturday (February 18).
According to the report, the 32-year-old free agent signed the deal on Saturday to return to the only WNBA team she has played for since they selected her with the first pick in the 2013 draft.
The Mercury, who open their 2023 WNBA season on May 19 at the Los Angeles Sparks, did not immediately respond when asked by Reuters to confirm the ESPN report.
Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medallist and eight-time Women’s National Basketball Association All-Star, was arrested in February 2022 at an airport outside Moscow for carrying vape cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage.