Time released its list of the top 100 influential people for 2023 on Thursday and divided them into several categories that include artists, icons, pioneers, leaders, titans and innovators. Six athletes made the cut, including the WNBA’s Brittney Griner, who was listed in the icons category.
For each person listed, a peer wrote a short blurb in their honor. For Griner, Sue Bird described Griner’s impact and what she has meant to women in sports.
“Brittney Griner’s story represents so much,” Bird wrote. “First off, it’s about resilience. BG spent nearly 10 months in Russian prison, wrongfully detained, but never lost hope or her sense of humor. She was BG, through and through, throughout her horrible ordeal.
"But underneath this story of inner strength is so much more. BG’s wrongful detainment brought attention to issues like the inequities in pay for women athletes, which sometimes compel us to put ourselves in dangerous situations to maximize our financial worth,” she continued. “It brought to light the dozens of Americans wrongfully detained around the world, and BG continues to use her platform as a sports superstar to advocate for their release.”
Griner was arrested at a Russian airport in February 2022 after Russian officials said they found hashish oil in her luggage. She pleaded guilty to the drug charges in a Russian court in July and stated that she did not intend to break the law. She was sentenced to nine years in a Russian penal colony in early August and had begun serving time in a penal colony in the Mordovia region of Russia.
Griner was released from Russian imprisonment in December after the U.S. reached a prisoner swap deal, exchanging Griner for international arms dealer Viktor Bout.
Other athletes on the Time’s list include Mikaela Shiffrin, Lionel Messi, Patrick Mahomes, Kylian Mbappé and Iga Świątek.
