Brittney Griner's release met with shock, relief from the Phoenix Mercury

Brianna Turner knew thing was up erstwhile her chamber doorway flew unfastened astir 7 a.m. CT Thursday and her ma rushed in, waking her up.

It wasn't atrocious news, however.

"BG's free! BG's free!" Turner's ma yelled.

Still successful furniture and hardly awake, Turner wasn't definite what she was hearing.

"Am I dreaming?" she asked.

Then the Phoenix Mercury guardant opened Twitter and saw nationalist outlets confirming the quality that teammate Brittney Griner had been freed from Russian custody aft 294 days successful a high-profile U.S.-Russia captive exchange.

"I honestly thought I was dreaming still," said Turner, who's staying with her parents successful Texas portion she's backmost from playing overseas successful Turkey. "I was confused. Like, it was utter shock.

"I hopped connected societal media, we turned connected the TV and, yeah, each the quality stations were like, 'Breaking news, Breaking news.'"

Turner's grandma really saw it first, calling arsenic soon arsenic she saw Griner had been released. "So, convey God my grandma was up aboriginal watching the news," Turner said.

She rapidly took a screenshot of a reporter's tweet confirming Griner's merchandise and sent it successful a radical chat to chap teammates Kia Nurse and Shey Peddy with the message: "Oh my gosh guys." As connection broke and yet dispersed passim the day, galore members of the Mercury franchise had akin reactions. Tears were shed, mouths dropped agape, texts were sent. Lots of texts.

In Phoenix, Mercury president Vince Kozar besides awoke to the quality erstwhile the 2nd of 2 calls from aboriginal Hall of Famer Diana Taurasi yet roused him. The archetypal happening Kozar did was cry.

"To accidental it's been a unreality doesn't adjacent truly seizure it," helium said. "I deliberation I astir apt consciousness similar everybody feels -- tremendous relief. It's surely a celebration. I conjecture a small spot of disbelief waiting for it to afloat hit.

"I didn't cognize the adjacent clip immoderate of america were going to spot her again."

Kozar fought tears arsenic helium sat astatine his table astatine location penning the connection the Mercury would yet release, and erstwhile helium saw Phoenix Suns prima Devin Booker stock the connection connected Instagram. He yet made it to the bureau astatine Footprint Center astir 10 a.m. MT. He had enactment to get to: among different things, ensuring Griner has everything she needs for her instrumentality to Phoenix -- the city, not the squad -- whenever that happens.

"We're not reasoning astir basketball," Kozar said. "Our main interest is her, and -- arsenic I've told radical earlier -- if she ne'er plays different crippled of basketball, different infinitesimal of WNBA hoops again, we volition inactive emotion her and attraction for her each the same, and thing astir however we consciousness astir her oregon what she means to us, oregon this metropolis oregon her household oregon immoderate of that volition change."

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0:41

Watch immoderate of the archetypal recorded video of Brittney Griner aft she boards a charter level and begins her instrumentality location to the United States.

Outside the Footprint Center, however, were fewer signs of the Griner news. A attraction unit was putting up lights astir thenar trees. A antheral changeable video of the BG42 motion adorning the extracurricular of the arena. Suns employees streamed into enactment mid-morning aft a nonaccomplishment to the Boston Celtics the nighttime before.

Two groups of Jehovah's Witnesses greeted folks arsenic they walked by connected the sidewalk and offered them pamphlets. Outside the arena is 1 of their regular spots to station up due to the fact that of the dense ft traffic. They figured retired Griner had been released erstwhile a section quality unit arrived and started interviewing radical connected the street.

But by and large, it was concern arsenic accustomed successful downtown Phoenix. People strolled done the plaza successful beforehand of the arena portion others got successful a mid-morning run. Lunch hr was conscionable beginning. And a fewer Griner fans made their mode to the arena.

Danae McKnight is simply a 33-year-old who moved to Phoenix 3 years agone from Florida with her wife. They knew nary 1 successful the country and bought Mercury play tickets arsenic a mode to find a community, McKnight explained portion lasting successful beforehand of a Black Lives Matter mural that features Griner connected the broadside of the Footprint Center. McKnight said they watched Griner beryllium "unapologetically herself."

"That's thing that a batch of people, including myself, conflict with," said McKnight, who wore a "We Are BG" T-shirt. "It took maine years to fig retired who I was and to judge that, due to the fact that there's truthful overmuch fearfulness with the LGBT assemblage and coming retired that you consciousness similar you person to fell yourself oregon you consciousness concerned.

"... Just the assurance that she has, and she conscionable knows who she is and she conscionable wants to beryllium that and it's inspiring. It's taught maine that it's OK to beryllium me."

McKnight bawled erstwhile her woman told her Griner was coming home, and knew she wanted to travel to the Footprint Center.

"It conscionable felt similar the close spot to be," McKnight said choking backmost tears. "This has truly impacted maine a batch much than I thought it would. I'm joined and I tin lone ideate my woman being distant from maine for astir 300 days, and it's truly idiosyncratic to me."

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T.J. Quinn details Brittney Griner's clip successful a Russian labour campy and what's adjacent for Griner aft being freed successful a captive swap.

Turner is successful Austin, astir 90 miles from San Antonio, wherever Griner landed astatine Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland connected Friday. She wants to springiness Griner abstraction and privateness arsenic she adapts to her old, yet caller life.

Turner joked that she's adjacent capable to thrust implicit and question astatine Griner done the gates.

"I'm definite hopefully successful a fewer weeks I'll beryllium capable to possibly speech to her, fig thing out," Turner said.

Kozar, who had implicit 300 unread substance messages by lunchtime, besides is hoping to spot Griner "soon," but lone connected her timeline, whether it's successful Arizona oregon successful her location authorities of Texas.

"I and everyone astir present who conscionable has been hopeless for 9 months to springiness her a hug is going to travel her pb connected erstwhile she wants to spot radical and erstwhile she wants to permission the location and erstwhile she wants to spell to the market store and erstwhile she wants to spell to a Suns game," helium said.

The temper astir the Mercury's and Suns' offices was celebratory each day, Kozar said. The Mercury players and coaches helium talked to passim the greeting were experiencing a operation of disbelief and joy. Their teammate, their person who they had talked about, lobbied for, campaigned for for astir a year, was connected her mode home.

"When you speech astir missing a household member, missing a portion of your culture, missing a portion of idiosyncratic who you person a idiosyncratic narration -- she's made you laugh, she's made you consciousness better, she's picked you up, she's helped you link with different radical -- we've been missing that," Kozar said. "So the thought of that returning, wholly abstracted from basketball, is conscionable really, truly joyous."

When Kozar talked to Mercury manager Vanessa Nygaard connected Thursday, she had conscionable finished carnal therapy to dainty a backmost wounded she suffered portion surfing. When helium mentioned her "poor back," Kozar said Nygaard responded: "Nothing hurts today."

While the absorption is connected Griner's information and well-being, and helping her readjust to society, her hoops aboriginal wasn't excessively acold from Kozar's mind. One happening Kozar learned done each the letters helium and Griner exchanged was that it wasn't conscionable her freedom, household and friends that were taken distant from her. So was, arsenic she calls it, hoop.

"We'll travel her lead, we'll bash immoderate she wants," helium said. "Part of the joyousness that she's brought to radical is however she plays and the mode she plays and who she is erstwhile she plays.

"And I'd beryllium lying if I didn't accidental determination was immoderate benignant of anticipation oregon excitement astir the thought that everyone would get to acquisition that again, but that's not what matters most."