Auriemma weighs in on Griner’s release
News broke Thursday that WNBA star Brittney Griner was released from Russian custody and was heading home to the United States after 294 days in detainment.
Reaction from the WNBA came quickly, including social media posts from many former UConn stars.
UConn women’s basketball coach Geno Auriemma has a history with Griner. She played against UConn with Baylor and she played for Auriemma with the gold-medal winning U.S. Olympic team in 2016.
Auriemma was asked about Griner’s release following the Huskies’ 69-64 win over Princeton Thursday night.
“I always thought that there’s ulterior motives for everything you know,’ Auriemma said. “When it happened everybody knew it was not your normal, typical US citizen in a foreign country doing something incredibly egregious and has to be punished for it. Everybody knew what the deal was.”
Griner was taken into Russian custody on Feb. 17, 2022 for the illegal possession of cannabis which had been legally prescribed to her in the United State. She was stopped and arrested in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport after authorities found four vape canisters filled with cannabis oil in her luggage when she intended on flying back to the U.S.
There was a high-profile outcry calling for the release of Griner. But Auriemma believes that did not help the cause.
“There was a point that the more we complained and the more attention we brought to it and the more we demanded that the Russian government do something, given how many other Americans are out there being held illegally. I knew that the more noise we made the more we threatened and the more we made it a cause, the longer
it was going to take for us to get Brittney back,” Auriemma said.
“So I’m really happy that in the last five months, however long, it’s been really quiet, and people behind the scenes did what they do. And it turned out the way it turned out.”
He added, “I’m happy for Brittney, I’m happy for her family.”
Auriemma was asked what Griner’s release meant for the women’s basketball world.
“I don’t look at this as a win for women’s basketball and women’s basketball community. You know, I’m not that guy. I’m not that person,” Auriemma said. “I look at it as you know the right thing to do was done whatever the motives were, I don’t care. The right thing to do was done. I just hope that whoever made that decision over there makes the same decision on whoever else is over there from the US that doesn’t belong there. So this is a great sign for humanity, not for women’s basketball.”
Princeton coach and former UConn player Carla Berube was also asked about Griner’s release.
“I was just so happy. I said, ‘Today’s going to be a good day.’ So very, very pleased with that news, for sure. I’m sure the whole women’s basketball community is now just like getting a sigh of relief,” Berube said.