Sue Bird recalls shocked reaction to Brittney Griner's detainment while shooting for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue   

By Aharon Abhishek

Modified Dec 19, 2024 10:41 GMT

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WNBA legend Sue Bird was one of the marquee names advocating for Brittney Griner's release from Russian detainment. In a recent interview, she revealed how she found out about Griner being detained at an airport in February 2022 after finding vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her baggage.

The Phoenix Mercury star spent 10 months in detainment before she was released as part of a prisoner exchange. Bird, speaking on 'Pablo Torre Finds Out', from former teammate Breanna Stewart during a Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue photo shoot.

"What I remember was, Breanna Stewart was also there. And she leans over to me at one point and she's like, 'Yo, I think something happened with BG in Russia. What could it be? What could be that bad? And then, fast-forward 48 hours, maybe a week ... So that's like technically how I found out. But I didn't know the gist. And [Stewart] was like, 'Yeah, I think it's bad.'"

Later, Bird spoke to TIME calling her story of detainment that of resilience. Calling the experience a "horrible ordeal", the 4x WNBA champion had her flowers for th Mercury star.

While Stewart didn't know the sequence of events, she believed it wasn't good. news for the center. As for Sue Bird, she was at a loss for words as he couldn't imagine what Brittney Griner went through.

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Sue Bird earlier spoke about Brittney Griner being unfazed by slights

Speaking to TIME in 2022, Sue Bird, who shared the locker room with Brittney Griner told the magazine about how the 6x WNBA All-Star was unfazed by all the slights that came her way.

“She doesn’t let that s**t faze her. There are times when she would get mistaken for a guy. She would walk into a woman’s bathroom and someone would stop her and be, ‘Oh, no, this is not your bathroom.’ I’ve heard people call her sir at an airport. ‘Excuse me, sir, can you come this way?’ She’s just like, ‘Whatever.’ She almost has a vibe about her. ‘No one’s going to ruin my day.’"

Since her return from detainment, Brittney Griner has been part of two All-Star campaigns for the side. She was also part of the Paris Olympics that won the Gold medal in Paris this summer. She will now be part of the Mercury's campaign for 2-2025 following their playoff exit at the hands of the Minnesota Lynx.