The Boston Celtics are using their platform to speak up for Brittney Griner, the WNBA star who has been detained in Russia for more than 100 days. Several Celtics players, who are currently facing the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, showed up to practice on Saturday wearing black T-shirts with the words “We Are BG” written on the front in orange letters.
“It’s extremely tough seeing what she’s going through,” Celtics star Jayson Tatum told ESPN. “I know everybody sees and feels that, and obviously we’re all together in support trying to bring her back to her family and things like that. Yeah, wearing those shirts today in support of her.”
Tatum connected with Griner when the two basketball stars played as members of Team USA at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo.
“Being over there with the Olympics, obviously it was during COVID and so we couldn’t really go out and see other events and things like that,” Tatum told ESPN. “So after the games, after practice, we would be in the hospitality room, men and women. We would be in there, playing cards, karaoke, things like that, video games. Great person to be around. She just lightens the entire room with her personality.”
Griner was detained at a Russian airport in February after customs officials allegedly found a vape cartridge containing hash oil in her luggage, as Blavity previously reported. Several WNBA and NBA players, as well as government officials, have been stepping up in the effort to free Griner.
“We hope to have her back in the U.S. and reunited with her family and do what she loves and bring that love and tenacity she always plays with on the court,” Celtics forward Grant Williams told ESPN. “The shirts were super important. Not only showing our support for our sister that is detained over in Russia, Brittney Griner, we just wanted to show that togetherness and love that we have throughout not only the NBA, but the WNBA. She’s been a vital part of the WNBA over years past, college, and in the amount of impact she’s had on young female athletes, USA and overseas.”
Williams, who serves as vice president of the National Basketball Players Association, said the NBPA and WNBPA collaborated to make the shirts.
“They sent them overnight to get them here for today,” Williams said. “They did a phenomenal job, and want to credit them to make that process happen. We just wanted to do that as a team. It was one of those things where no one questioned it. Everyone said, ‘Let’s do it.’ Everyone put the shirt on immediately when we got them, fresh off the box. They were ironed and good to go. So we wanted to show that love and support.”
