NBA Is Low Key in Public Campaign to Free Brittney Griner

Tamika Tremaglio, the executive director of the N.B.A. players’ union, said she had been in contact with Terri Jackson, the executive director of the W.N.B.A.’s players’ union, since just after news broke of Griner’s detention about how N.B.A. players could help.

When the N.B.A.’s union leaders met in Las Vegas this month, they asked for an update. Jackson, who was at the W.N.B.A. All-Star Game in Chicago, recorded a video that was shown to the N.B.A. players.

“You could hear a pin drop,” Tremaglio said. “They were so pensive in terms of listening and hearing and understanding what was happening. It is something that we as a union also support the women. This is something we were critically concerned about, too.”

Rezaian said public displays of support are important.

During his 544-day detention in Iran, some of his most hopeful moments had come when he had heard that people were speaking about him, whether it was someone from The Washington Post or President Barack Obama.

“That sort of thing just floods you with a sense of being alive and also of power,” Rezaian said. “The walls might be up around you, and you can’t break them down, but you’re still there. You still count. And people are doing what they can for you.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/22/sports/basketball/nba-brittney-griner-russia.html