Athletes in attendance at ESPYS 2022 couldn’t help but notice that one sports star was missing from the audience.
During the live broadcast, the host Stephen Curry joined the WNBA players Mrs. Ogwumike and Skylar Diggins-Smith to speak in support of Brittney Griner who remains in detention in Russia.
While Stephen said he was “proud” to announce the WNBA as the humanitarian sports league of the year, he wanted to acknowledge Brittney’s absence from the sport.
“We can’t stop fighting for her,” he said inside the Dolby Theater on July 20. “We can’t stop believing in her. We will not stop looking forward to the day when we can safely welcome you home.”
Brittney is an eight-time WNBA All-Star and Olympic gold medalist. For 153 nights, she was detained in Russia after she was arrested in February at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport for alleged possession of vape cartridges containing cannabis oil. On July 7, the basketball player pleaded guilty to drug charges and said she had not acted knowingly.