Phoenix Mercury’s Brittney Griner Wins WNBA Cares Community Assist Award
Key points:
- Brittney Griner of the Phoenix Mercury has received the WNBA Cares Community Assist Award
- Griner was recognized for her work in championing the safe return of wrongful detainees overseas
- She also founded the BG Heart & Sole Shoe Drive to provide shoes to unhoused individuals in the Phoenix area
Phoenix Mercury center Brittney Griner has been honored with the WNBA Cares Community Assist Award for her advocacy work in championing the safe return of wrongful detainees overseas. Following her own wrongful detention in Russia, Griner has partnered with the Bring Our Families Home campaign to lobby for the release of more than 60 American hostages and wrongful detention cases. She has met with families, organized letter-writing stations, and unveiled a mural of wrongfully detained individuals. Griner’s shoe drive initiative also collected and distributed nearly 3,000 pairs of shoes to unhoused individuals in the Phoenix metro area.