Coaches use top-two matchup to support Griner

STANFORD, Calif. — South Carolina coach Dawn Staley and Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer wore long-sleeved shirts honoring Brittney Griner as part of a series of efforts to support the detained WNBA star during their teams’ No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup Sunday at Maples Pavilion.

The coaches got together on court before the game for a moment of silence for Griner, who is imprisoned in Russia after being convicted in August of drug charges. The Phoenix Mercury center was arrested in February in Moscow and is spending her 276th day in confinement as of Sunday.

Stanford also set up a letter-writing station in the Maples concourse Sunday to send cards to Griner.

The back of the T-shirts, which were designed by Playa Society and are expected to be available for sale later this month, have a message to Griner that reads: “Dear BG: We love you and are fighting for you. Millions of us are uplifting your name every chance we get, and we won’t stop until you are home. We hope our love and support reaches you and ultimately sets you free.”

A portion of the profits from the sale of the shirts will go to the Bring Our Families Home Campaign and the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, both of which advocate for the rights of Americans detained in other countries.

Griner won gold medals as part of the U.S. Olympic women’s basketball team in 2016 and 2021, the latter when Staley coached the Americans. Staley played for VanDerveer when the Americans won the 1996 gold medal.

VanDerveer spoke before the game about some of her memories of Griner when she was at Baylor. Griner’s Bears squad finished a 40-0 NCAA title season in 2011-12 with a championship-game victory over Stanford.

“We want her to come home, and we miss her,” VanDerveer said.

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