PHOENIX MERCURY

Mercury’s Brittney Griner appears at Super Bowl, WM Phoenix Open

Feb 13, 2023, 7:34 AM
American professional basketball player Brittney Griner acknowledges fans as she watches on the 16t...

American professional basketball player Brittney Griner acknowledges fans as she watches on the 16th hole during the third round of the Phoenix Open golf tournament, Saturday, Feb. 11, 2023, in Scottsdale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

(AP Photo/Darryl Webb)

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — WNBA star Brittney Griner attended the WM Phoenix Open golf tournament Saturday in her second public appearance since her release from a Russian prison.

Griner was part of a crowd of about 200,000 fans at the golf tournament, watching the action from the stadium’s 16th hole.

A day later, on Sunday night, she sat with her wife, Cherelle, in Philadelphia Eagles gear at State Farm Stadium to take in Super Bowl LVII, which had an announced attendance of 67,827.

Last month Griner made her first public appearance at the Martin Luther King Jr. march in downtown Phoenix.

Griner is skipping the USA Basketball training camp in Minnesota so she can be with her wife and recover from her time in jail in Russia. She was traded in a dramatic prisoner swap in December.

Griner has said she’ll play for the Phoenix Mercury again this season, although she’s still an unsigned free agent. She hasn’t talked about her international future and potentially playing in the Olympics next year in Paris.

She returned to the U.S. in December after a dramatic prisoner swap for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. She spent 294 days in Russian custody.

Griner was arrested at the Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport in February when customs officials said they found vape canisters with cannabis oil in her luggage. She pleaded guilty in July, though still faced trial because admitting guilt in Russia’s judicial system does not automatically end a case.

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