Sue Bird and other WNBA players have been able to write to Brittney Griner during her detainment in Russia, the Seattle Storm star revealed on the latest episode of The Players’ Pod.

Players have an email address to which they can send letters, and then those letters can be delivered to Griner by her lawyer.

“I’ve been sending her these short stories,” she said. “The whole idea is that her Russian lawyer can print that and give her something to have. And that’s the one way to communicate. We all write her and we think about her.”

Griner has been detained in Russia since February, when she was taken into custody in a Moscow airport for alleged possession of hashish oil. The seven-time WNBA All-Star was in the country to play for Russian club UMMC Ekaterinburg during the WNBA offseason, which she has done since 2015.

Russian authorities have charged Griner with “large-scale transportation of drugs,” which could carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison, but the U.S. government considers the Phoenix Mercury star to be “wrongfully detained.”

In an interview with “Good Morning America” on Wednesday, Griner’s wife Cherelle Griner also said that she has been able to write letters to Brittney. They have had no verbal communication since Brittney’s arrest.

Early in Griner’s detention, Cherelle Griner and WNBA players were asked to keep mum on the situation to help keep the Mercury star safe.

“The hard part was, early on, knowing the strategy was to be quiet,” Bird said. “Because we didn’t want BG to be a political pawn.

“It was hard because, all of us, it’s so tough to think of BG who is this gentle giant, sweetest human, sitting in a Russian jail cell. Every time her hearing comes up, they push it back. So just understanding that emotional roller coaster, the toll it must be taking on her.”

The strategy has changed in recent weeks, and the WNBA season has provided a constant reminder of Griner’s plight.

“In general I think we all just miss her,” Bird said. “Early in the season, one of our preseason games was in Phoenix and that I think was when it hit me the hardest. I can’t imagine what the Phoenix players go through, because I think of BG often.”

The WNBA is currently honoring Griner with a floor decal that has her initials and jersey number (42) on the sidelines of all 12 WNBA courts. Additionally, every team is holding a shoe drive for Griner’s Heart and Sole Shoe Drive.

In addition to honoring Griner throughout the season, the WNBPA, Griner’s agency and others have come together to create a website dedicated to helping bring her home. The site provides visitors with ways to get involved in helping to secure Griner’s release.

“I know people see her as a basketball player, an Olympian, this and that,” said Bird, who played with Griner on the 2016 and 2020 Olympic teams. “To us, it’s like, it’s BG, it’s the homie, it’s our friend, it’s our teammate.

“Now the strategy has shifted because she has been tabbed as wrongfully detained. Now the government can get much more involved and we can do our part to make sure that they are true to their word. Anything we can do to shed light on it, keep her name at the forefront, we are doing.”

Hailey Van Lith is reportedly on her way to TCU, says Talia Goodman of The Next Hoops.

The former Louisville star joined LSU for the 2023-24 season, but a disappointing run in Baton Rouge saw her enter the transfer portal once again at the season’s end. Van Lith opted to use her fifth year of eligibility versus declaring for the WNBA draft.

Van Lith was admittedly less effective as a Tiger. Her field goal percentage decreased from .411 in 2022-23 with Louisville to .388 at LSU. She also went from averaging 19.7 points per game to just 11.6, due in part to a change of position from shooting guard to more of a point guard role.

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At an end-of-season banquet last week, LSU coach Kim Mulkey used her speech to wish Van Lith well, calling her "one of the hardest working players that I’ve ever coached."

"Her aspirations were to get drafted this year," Mulkey said, according to NOLA.com. "And she realized, 'I need another year, and I need to go back to a place where I can relax and get back to my normal position.'

"And what do you do? You hug her, and you wish her well."

The decision to commit to TCU may come as a surprise after Van Lith paid a visit to Mississippi State last weekend. The Horned Frogs finished out the 2023-24 season 21-12 overall, coming in 9th in the Big 12 and scoring an average of 69.5 points per game. The program also made headlines in January when they held mid-season open tryouts in response to an onslaught of sidelining injuries.

For the first time in the NWSL's 12-year history, fans can now buy their own goalkeeper jerseys. And while replica goalkeeper jerseys representing all 14 NWSL teams hit the market on Wednesday, some didn't stick around for long. 

Fans across women's soccer have long vocalized their discontent over the position's lack of availability on social media, often comparing the shortcoming to the widespread availability of men’s goalkeeper jerseys. And as the NWSL has grown, so has demand — and not just from those in the stands. 

"To have goalkeeper kits available for fans in the women’s game as they have been for so long in the men’s game is not only a long-awaited move in the right direction, it’s just good business," said Washington Spirit goalie Aubrey Kingsbury in an team press release. "I can’t wait to see fans representing me, Barnie [Barnhart], and Lyza in the stands at Audi!"

just went looking at #nwsl goalkeeper kit stock out of curiosity — Alyssa Naeher's $145 kit already sold out S-XL (league announced GK jerseys on sale 3 hours ago)https://t.co/8bYA7tlwcx

— Meg Linehan (@itsmeglinehan) April 17, 2024

Business does, in fact, appear to be booming. Alyssa Naeher’s Chicago Red Stars kit sold out less than three hours after the league's announcement. Jerseys for other keepers like DiDi Haračić, Abby Smith, Michelle Betos, Katelyn Rowland, and Bella Bixby aren’t currently available via the Official NWSL Shop, though blank goalkeeper jerseys can be customized through some individual team sites. Jerseys start at $110 each.

"This should be the benchmark," said Spirit Chief Operations Officer Theresa McDonnell. "The expectation is that all players’ jerseys are available to fans. Keepers are inspiring leaders and mentors with their own unique fan base who want to represent them... I can’t wait to see them all over the city."

Decorated gymnast Simone Biles took to the popular Call Her Daddy podcast this week to open up about her experience at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, revealing she thought she was going to be "banned from America" for her performance.

After Biles botched her vault routine due to a bout of the "twisties," she withdrew from the team final as well as the all-around final in order to focus on her mental health. She later reentered the competition to win bronze in the individual balance beam final.

In her interview with podcast host Alex Cooper, Biles admitted to feeling like she let the entire country down by failing her vault attempt.

"As soon as I landed I was like 'Oh, America hates me. The world is going to hate me. I can only see what they’re saying on Twitter right now,'" she recalled thinking. "I was like, ‘Holy s---, what are they gonna say about me?'"

"I thought I was going to be banned from America," she continued. "That’s what they tell you: Don’t come back if not gold. Gold or bust. Don’t come back."

Widely regarded as the greatest gymnast of all time, Biles has hinted at a desire to join her third Olympic team in Paris, though her participation won't be confirmed until after the gymnastics trials in late June. She holds over 30 medals from the Olympic Games and World Artistic Gymnastics Championships combined, and if qualified, would be a sure favorite heading into this summer’s games.

Caitlin Clark is reportedly close to cementing a hefty endorsement deal with Nike.

The Athletic was the first to break the news Wednesday evening, commenting that the deal would be worth "eight figures" and include her own signature shoe. On Thursday afternoon, the publication tweeted that the deal would top $20 million, according to lead NBA Insider Shams Charania. Both Under Armour and Adidas are said to have also made sizable offers to the college phenom and expected future WNBA star.

The new agreement comes after Clark's previous Nike partnership ended with the conclusion of the college basketball season. She was one of five NCAA athletes to sign an NIL deal with the brand back in October, 2022. 

Considering Clark's overwhelming popularity and Nike's deep pockets, the signing's purported value doesn't exactly come as a shock. New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu’s deal with the brand is reportedly worth $24 million, while NBA rookie and No. 1 overall pick Victor Wembanyama’s deal is rumored to weigh in at $100 million. And in 2003, LeBron James famously earned $90 million off his own Nike deal. 

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Clark’s star power continues to skyrocket, with the NCAA championship averaging 18.9 million viewers and the 2024 WNBA Draft more than doubling its previous viewership record. Following the draft, Fanatics stated that Clark's Indiana Fever jersey — which sold out within an hour — was the top seller for any draft night pick in the company’s history, with droves of unlucky fans now being forced to wait until August to get their hands on some official No. 22 gear.

In Wednesday's Indiana Fever introductory press conference, the unfailingly cool, calm, and collected Clark said that turning pro hasn’t made a huge impact on how she’s conducting her deals.

"If I’m being completely honest, I feel like it doesn’t change a ton from how I lived my life over the course of the last year," she said. "Sponsorships stay the same. The people around me, agents and whatnot, have been able to help me and guide me through the course of the last year. I don’t know if I would be in this moment if it wasn’t for a lot of them."