Brittney Griner will play her first professional basketball game since October 2021 on May 21. Grammy-winning rapper Wyclef Jean will perform at the halftime show as part of the festivities.
According to TMZ Sports, the Phoenix Mercury teamed up with The Sum, a music platform, to get the former The Fugees member to play for Griner’s first home game against the Chicago Sky at the Footprint Center.
TMZ reported that fans will be selected to perform with Wyclef, as he will reportedly perform Bob Marley’s infectious hit record, “One Love.”
Jean will also perform a post-game concert, according to a press release.
Griner’s recovery from her recent trauma is extraordinary. The WNBA player was arrested at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport in February 2022 for possessing hashish oil. She was imprisoned for about ten months before being sentenced to nine and a half years in prison.
On December 8, President Joe Biden brokered a one-for-one prisoner swap with Moscow officials in exchange for convicted Russian arms trader Viktor Bout.
Griner signed a one-year contract with the Phoenix Mercury in February 2023, and many basketball fans are looking forward to her comeback.
Breaking: Brittney Griner has signed a one-year deal with the Phoenix Mercury, sources confirmed to ESPN.
More: https://t.co/3gTiF8hYYu pic.twitter.com/3Orh4igTX8
— ESPN (@espn) February 18, 2023
“It’s a great day for all of us to announce that Brittney Griner has officially signed to play for the Mercury in 2023,” Phoenix General Manager Jim Pitman said in a statement. “We missed BG every day that she was gone and, while basketball was not our primary concern, her presence on the floor, in our locker room, around our organization, and within our community was greatly missed. We will continue to use the resources of our organization to support her, on and off the floor, and we are thrilled for her that she gets to return to basketball, which she loves so dearly. This is a special signing and today is a special day for all of us.”
Brittney Griner, the WNBA star who was detained in Russia for nearly 10 months last year, made her Met Gala debut. https://t.co/HJsRBopSAK pic.twitter.com/fyIVzyFBbq
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 2, 2023