Brittney Griner and spouse Cherelle made a shock look on the 2023 NAACP Image Awards on Feb. 25. The complete crowd erupted into applause and rose to their ft as host Queen Latifah launched the couple on the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, saying, “In the spirit of overcoming adversity, I wish to take this second to acknowledge somebody who has finished simply that. Back house, again right here with us tonight, the place she belongs.” After taking the stage hand in hand whereas smiling from ear to ear, each Brittney and Cherelle addressed the viewers and made a plea to combat for American detainees abroad.
“We are actually so grateful to all of the folks, a lot of whom are Black girls and Black-led organizations, who fought so exhausting to carry BG house tonight,” Cherelle mentioned. Brittney added, “It feels so good to be right here, particularly with my lovely, wonderful spouse and with all of y’all right here right this moment. I wanna thank everybody, and let’s hold preventing to carry house each American nonetheless detained abroad.” NBA icon Dwyane Wade, who was vocal about his assist of Griner all through her detainment in Russia, was seen tearing up within the crowd whereas watching her communicate on the stage.
After their speech, the Griners sat facet by facet to get pleasure from the remainder of the ceremony amongst attendees that included Zendaya, Viola Davis, Jonathan Majors, and Angela Bassett. They additionally posed for photographs with civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, who received the Social Justice Impact Award, and actor Terrence Howard, whose function in “The Best Man: The Final Chapters” earned him a nomination for excellent actor in a tv film, restricted collection or dramatic particular.
Griner returned again house to the States on Dec. 8 after being held in a Russian jail for nearly a yr on drug fees. Since her launch, the WNBA star has made a number of public appearances, attending a Martin Luther King Jr. march in January and a golf match in Phoenix earlier this month. She additionally just lately signed a one-year contract extension with the Phoenix Mercury.
Read forward to see all of the photographs of the Griners taking up the NAACP Image Awards in type.