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The W.N.B.A. Strikes an Uneasy Silence Over Brittney Griner

Advisers are taking a discreet approach to negotiating the Phoenix Mercury center’s release from Russian detention, putting her anguished teammates and the league in a discomfiting position.

A chair on the Phoenix Mercury bench sat empty during the team’s 82-78 preseason loss to the Seattle Storm in Phoenix last week.Credit...Rebecca Noble for The New York Times

That painful question hangs over the Phoenix Mercury, just as it is likely to hang over the coming W.N.B.A. season.

Last week, at a home preseason game pitting Phoenix against the Seattle Storm, hip-hop blared and gyrating dance squads revved up the crowd.