Short answer: There is no public record of Brittney Griner making any statement, taking any action, or expressing a position on Israel, either supportive or critical. As of August 2026, she has never visited Israel and has never commented publicly on the Israel-Gaza war or the broader Israel-Palestine conflict.
What Brittney Griner has actually said and done
February 17, 2022: Griner was detained at a Moscow airport on cannabis-related charges while returning to play for her Russian club team, beginning a nearly ten-month detention that dominated her public profile that year, according to CBS Sports. This is not an Israel-related event, but it is the necessary backdrop for the two items below, which are the closest her story ever comes to Israel.
Late February 2022: An Israeli negotiator from the Richardson Center contacted Griner's agent shortly after her detention began and later met with her wife, Cherelle Griner, to discuss securing U.S. government support for her release, as reported by the Times of Israel. This was an Israeli individual acting on Griner's behalf, not any statement by Griner about Israel.
July 14, 2022: Na'ama Issachar, an Israeli-American woman who had been jailed in Russia for about ten months on a similar cannabis-related charge and was released in 2020 after a pardon from Vladimir Putin, publicly sent Griner a message of encouragement while Griner was still detained, according to Haaretz. This was a message directed at Griner by an Israeli citizen, not a statement from Griner herself.
December 8, 2022: Griner was released from Russian custody in a prisoner swap for arms dealer Viktor Bout, an event that drew broad international coverage, including from the Jerusalem Post. None of that coverage recorded any Israel-related statement from Griner herself.
Since October 2023: After the Hamas attack on Israel and the war that followed, several WNBA players, including Natasha Cloud, Kierstan Bell, Layshia Clarendon, former player Jasmine Thomas, and Amanda Zahui B., publicly signed onto the "Athletes for Ceasefire" petition calling for a Gaza ceasefire, per The Nation. Griner's name does not appear among the signers, and no comparable public position from her, for a ceasefire, against one, or otherwise addressing Israel, has surfaced.
2026: Griner is active and playing for the Connecticut Sun in the 2026 WNBA season, having signed with the team on April 11, 2026, per WNBA.com. She remains publicly active, and no Israel-related statements have surfaced from her during this period.
Context
Griner's public identity centers on her basketball career (three Olympic gold medals, WNBA All-Star, now with the Connecticut Sun), her 2022 detention in Russia, and the prisoner-swap release that followed. She has been outspoken on domestic social-justice issues, including racial justice, LGBTQ rights, and the national anthem debate, but a review of reporting through August 2026 turns up no instance of her commenting on Israel, the Israel-Gaza war, antisemitism, or the Israel-Palestine conflict in any direction. Unlike several WNBA peers, most prominently Natasha Cloud, who have been vocal in calling for a Gaza ceasefire and are sometimes framed as sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, Griner has not joined that advocacy or taken any comparable public stance. She also has no known Jewish or Israeli family background. The only connections to Israel in her story are incidental to her Russia detention: an Israeli negotiator's early involvement in relief efforts and a solidarity message from an Israeli-American former detainee. Neither reflects Griner's own view of Israel.
The bottom line
Brittney Griner has not publicly supported or opposed Israel. There is no evidence of her visiting Israel, donating to Israeli causes, commenting on the Israel-Gaza war, or joining fellow WNBA players' pro-Palestinian ceasefire advocacy. Her Israel connections are limited to being on the receiving end of Israeli goodwill during her Russia detention, not any expressed position of her own.
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Last updated August 2026. We update these profiles as the record changes.
