Cherelle Griner, the wife of Brittney Griner, wants President Joe Biden and the U.S. government to use their power to bring the WNBA star home. Brittney Griner has been detained in Russia since February.

In an interview with “Good Morning America” co-anchor Robin Roberts that aired Wednesday, Cherelle Griner called on Biden to act.

“I just keep hearing that he has the power,” Griner said. “She’s a political pawn. So if they’re holding her because they want you to do something, then I want you to do it.”

"Every single day matters ... to make sure that she comes back."

Cherelle Griner, the wife of WNBA superstar Brittney Griner, who has been detained in a Russian prison for nearly 100 days, speaks to @robinroberts about the fight to bring her home. https://t.co/A7bpCs5jQp pic.twitter.com/Yv8GFk5hfW

— Good Morning America (@GMA) May 25, 2022

Brittney Griner was taken into custody in a Moscow airport for alleged possession of hashish oil. Russian authorities have charged Griner with “large-scale transportation of drugs,” which could mean up to 10 years in prison, but the U.S. government considers her to be “wrongfully detained.”

The seven-time WNBA All-Star and two-time Olympic gold medalist has played for Russian club UMMC Ekaterinburg during the WNBA offseason since 2015. In an interview Wednesday with ESPN, Cherelle Griner revealed that this was set to be her wife’s last season overseas.

“She just said she was so exhausted from always having to go overseas,” Cherelle Griner said. “So we talked about it, and I was like, ‘Let’s just make this your last year overseas then.’

“I’m just so sorry she’s going through this. Like, it kills me.”

Former United Nations ambassador Bill Richardson, who was the governor of New Mexico from 2003 to 2011 and helped to negotiate the recent release of former U.S. Marine Trevor Reed from Russia, has been helping on Griner’s case.

“The Russians held [Reed and Griner], I believe, as bargaining chips,” Richardson told Bryant Gumbel in an interview on HBO’s “Real Sports” that aired Tuesday night. “They want something in return. Usually another prisoner, a Russian, in the United States. I’m convinced the Russians are going to ask for something in return, because Brittney Griner is very high profile.

“What makes it doable is that the president of the United States is ready to consider prisoner exchanges, which we haven’t [done] too much in the past.”

Reports from Russian media have indicated that the U.S. and Russia are discussing possibly exchanging Griner for Victor Bout, a Russian arms dealer convicted in the U.S. But Alexander Boikov, the lawyer for Griner, said that he has not received any information on any possible exchange.

Cherelle Griner is left waiting on any movement in Brittney’s case. She has had no verbal communication with her wife since before Brittney Griner’s arrest.

“I’m in a position of complete vulnerability right now,” she said. “”So I’m trusting her lawyers. … ‘How does she look? How is her spirit? How is her energy?’ I’m just asking all those questions, trying to just get some type of indication or vibe.

“Some days they say, ‘She’s really strong. … She seemed in good spirits when we talked.’ And sometimes they’ll say, ‘Her energy was really low.'”

The spouses have have communicated through letters, and Cherelle Griner revealed that the outpouring of support Brittney has received from the WNBA has brought the star player “comfort” during her in detention.

The WNBA is honoring Griner this season with a floor decal that has her initials and jersey number (42) on the sidelines of each court. Additionally, every team is holding a shoe drive for Griner’s Heart and Sole Shoe Drive.

“Things like that matter, like, it has her hopeful,” Cherelle Griner told Roberts. “It lets her know she’s not forgotten. Those small moments, I know, give her some type of hope.”

For her part, Cherelle Griner is driving support and awareness as she pushes for the return of the woman she calls “the glue to our family.”

“When we have been able to communicate, via letters, she’s like, ‘I am so sorry I’m making your life hard right now. Don’t give up on me, though,'” Griner said. “And I’m like, ‘I’m not going to give up on you. This isn’t your fault.'”

The AP Women's College Basketball Poll turns 50 next year, and the publication began celebrating its rankings run a few months early by asking 13 former players and AP sportswriters to fill an All-Time team roster with the NCAA's best.

First Team honors went to USC legend Cheryl Miller, UConn greats Breanna Stewart and Diana Taurasi, all-time leading NCAA scorer and Iowa alum Caitlin Clark, and position-defining Tennessee forward Candace Parker.

Standout Huskies Sue Bird and Maya Moore also snagged AP All-Time nods, earning Second Team spots alongside Virginia star guard Dawn Staley, Tennessee forward and three-time national champion Chamique Holdsclaw, and three-time AIAW champion and MVP Lusia Harris from Delta State.

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Even the AP list's reserves are full of legends, with basketball pioneers like Kansas star Lynette Woodard and UCLA's Ann Meyers Drysdale joining Lisa Leslie (USC) and Sheryl Swoopes (Texas Tech) as well as current WNBA superstars A'ja Wilson (South Carolina) and Brittney Griner (Baylor) on the All-Time bench.

"Being named an AP All-American is one of the most storied honors in college sports," Clark said in response to her AP All-Time First Team nod. "It's fun to think about what it would have been like if we all played together."

"What an accomplishment and what an honor," said fellow First Team honoree Taurasi. "There's so many great women who paved the way."

With the October 31st WNBA CBA deadline looming, ESPN recently conducted an anonymous survey of team owners, executives, players, and other insiders about the simmering tensions between athletes and league leadership in the wake of Minnesota Lynx star Napheesa Collier's viral exit interview last month.

"Once you have that kind of fighting with your best players, it's a death spiral," a team executive told ESPN after fans booed commissioner Cathy Engelbert at this year's WNBA Finals.

"Change is a must," another exec said in the anonymous WNBA survey. "Either Cathy has to change how she relates to the players, or there has to be a change in that role."

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That said, not everyone agreed, with one owner saying, "If you fire her now, it's admitting weakness. It's a terrible look for the league. I can't stand what [Collier] did. That was a private conversation. It makes me not want to fire [Engelbert] — even though I think she should be."

CBA negotiations have also remained frosty this month, with Las Vegas Aces star guard Chelsea Gray telling ESPN that the talks are "not where we thought and wanted to be at this point in time. It's market share, it's salaries, it's player safety, it's everything."

With the parties still reportedly far from a deal, the threat of a work stoppage next season hangs over the stalled proceedings.

"I don't think it's going to be done by Halloween," a league source told ESPN. "[But] in the end, a work stoppage doesn't benefit anybody."

Just one ticket to the 2025 NWSL Playoffs remains unpunched after four different clubs clinched postseason berths over the weekend.

The No. 4 Seattle Reign clinched with a 2-1 win over the No. 12 Utah Royals on Friday before the No. 5 San Diego Wave emphatically slammed the door with a 6-1 Saturday drubbing of the No. 14 Chicago Stars, while the No. 6 Portland Thorns joined the postseason party with a 2-0 Sunday win over No. 11 Angel City.

As for No. 7 Gotham FC, a tense 2-2 draw with No. 8 Louisville propelled the Bats to their third consecutive postseason appearance on Sunday, leaving Racing still poised to earn a club-first playoff spot with a post-international break win.

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The newly clinched quartet will join the previously postseason-bound No. 1 Kansas City Current, No. 2 Washington Spirit, and No. 3 Orlando Pride in the 2025 NWSL Playoffs.

Only one team — No. 9 North Carolina — can challenge Louisville for the eighth and final berth, as weekend results saw both the No. 10 Houston Dash and No. 11 Angel City eliminated while the Courage took down No. 13 Bay FC 4-1 on Friday to remain in contention.

In order to snag that eighth spot, however, North Carolina will need a 2025 Decision Day win over Gotham — plus a Louisville loss or draw against Bay FC.

"The reality is, we are still in control of our destiny with one game to go," Racing captain Janine Sonis said on Sunday. "[It's] not like us to not to keep things interesting."

With one postseason spot and the majority of the 2025 Playoffs seeding still up for grabs, the NWSL is gearing up for yet another game-changing Decision Day on November 2nd.

The No. 1 Kansas City Current hit an unexpected skid on Saturday, when the 2025 NWSL Shield-winners suffered a 1-0 upset loss to the No. 10 Houston Dash — and lost their star striker, Temwa Chawinga, to injury along the way.

Despite leading the match in shots, shots on goal, and possession, the defeat snapped the Current's 17-game unbeaten streak, leaving the club one result short of setting a new franchise record.

"Sometimes things like this will happen," Kansas City head coach Vlatko Andonovski said postgame. "You're going to dominate, you're going to do everything well, but you're not going to score a goal…. I'm glad it happened now and not two games from now."

The loss stings, but with the top postseason berth already secured, Kansas City's concern turns to their 2024 MVP after Chawinga exited the match with a non-contact injury.

A knock to the upper right leg saw the Malawi international wheeled off the pitch in the 29th minute, with Andonovski later clarifying that it was not a knee injury.

Considered a frontrunner to repeat as both NWSL MVP and Golden Boot winner, the 27-year-old leads the league in scoring this season with 15 goals over 23 appearances.

While Kansas City is still awaiting a specific diagnosis for their star striker, time could be on the Current's side, as this week's international break gives Chawinga a moment to rest before her club closes out their 2025 NWSL regular season — and, more importantly, takes aim at a championship run.

How to watch the next Kansas City Current match

The league-leading Current will be back in action on NWSL Decision Day, with Kansas City closing out their 2025 regular-season campaign by hosting the No. 5 San Diego Wave on Sunday, November 2nd.

The time and broadcast details for the 2025 season's Decision Day will drop at a later date at NWSLSoccer.com.