Brittney Griner named on Time's 100 Most Influential list: All you need to know

Time magazine has named Britney Griner to its list of the 100 Most Influential people. She was one of many athletes selected for the prestigious ranking.

Other athletes on the list included skier Mikaela Shiffrin, who shattered more records this season, Super Bowl champion Patrick Mahomes II, soccer stars Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi and tennis star and advocate Iga Switek.

Olympians Yusra Mardini and her sister Sara also made the list. The two were refugees from Syria. Yusra competed for the refugee Olympic team at the 2016 Summer Olympics and has been a human rights activist since.

Why did Griner make the list?

Griner is a WNBA star who has remained a prominent figure in basketball. She is one of the few women players to dunk a basketball and has had a successful college and pro career.

Griner made international news when she was imprisoned in Russia. The two-time Olympic gold medalist spent 10 months in prison. She was arrested in February 2022 and was sentenced to nine years in prison. Griner was charged with possession of drug-related materials. The basketball player had cannabis-based oils in her suitcase during a security check. Griner was also sent to a women’s correctional facility for a brief period while detained.

Griner was freed and returned to the United States in a diplomatic exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. The U.S. government asserted that Griner was wrongfully detained.

Griner is set to return to the WNBA when the season begins in May. She signed a deal with the Phoenix Mercury. Griner has played with the Mercury since 2013. She also played one season in China and eight years in Russia during the WNBA offseason.

Sue Bird wrote Griner’s entry in Time Magazine for the feature. Bird and Griner played together on Team USA during both of Griner’s gold medal runs. Bird wrote words of admiration for Griner’s resilience.

“She was BG through and through, throughout her horrible ordeal,” Bird wrote.

Griner is also a figure for LGBTQ and women’s rights in sports. Griner also now uses her platform to advocate for others who are wrongfully detained in foreign countries.