Brittney Griner's coach on Russian detention: 'If it was LeBron, he would be home, right?'

Fox News' Alexandria Hoff on Brittney Griner's attempts to ask President Biden for help getting her out of a Russian prison

Brittney Griner’s coach, Vanessa Nygaard, suggested Monday that the WNBA superstar’s clout may be a factor in why there is not more of an urgency to get her out of a Russian jail.

Nygaard said before the team’s game against the Los Angeles Sparks, if LeBron James had been locked up abroad, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar would have been home by now.

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WNBA star and two-time Olympic gold medalist Brittney Griner is escorted to a courtroom for a hearing, in Khimki just outside Moscow, Russia, Monday, June 27, 2022. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

"If it was LeBron, he would be home, right?" she asked. "It is a statement about the value of women. It is a statement about the value of a Black person. It is a statement about the value of a gay person. All of those things. And we know it. And so, that’s what hurts a little more."

Nygaard, who is in her first season as the Mercury’s head coach, said Griner’s letter to the White House made her cry.

"It’s great she was able to get that message to us. And hopefully some people are paying attention to it," she added.

Phoenix Mercury Head Coach Vanessa Nygaard looks on during a WNBA game between the Phoenix Mercury and the Chicago Sky on July 2, 2022, at Wintrust Arena in Chicago, IL. (Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Griner’s letter was delivered to the White House on Monday. She wanted to make sure President Joe Biden and the rest of his administration do not "forget about me and the other American detainees" in Russia.

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