Brittney Griner

Homecoming for Griner in WNBA star's first Texas game since Russian release 

The Dallas Wings beat the Pheonix Mercury 84 to 79

NBC Universal, Inc.

In Arlington’s College Park Center Wednesday night, WNBA star Brittney Griner made her Texas homecoming.

The Phoenix Mercury Center took on the Dallas Wings in the teams’ first matchup of the season.

It was also Griner’s first game back in the Lone Star State after being wrongfully detained in Russia for 10 months.

Amid the celebration for the Baylor Alum, Griner aimed to share her spotlight with those still waiting to come home.

That included the family of fellow Texan and Houston businessman Zack Shahin.

"We're very excited to bring this story to the public,” said Shahin’s sister-in-law Aida Dagher.

Dagher said the family’s worked for 15 years to free Shahin from a prison in the United Arab Emirates, held for a financial crime she said he didn’t commit.

She said Shahin spent the last four months in the hospital.

"His health is deteriorating unbelievably. And I can tell you from top to bottom, whether it's pneumonia he had, heart blockages he has, prostrate problems, thyroid problems, you name it,” she said.

Even worse, Dagher said Shahin is losing hope.

The United States has not declared Shahin’s wrongfully detained. But earlier this year, the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention found he was arbitrarily detained, kidnapped and subjected to multiple human rights crimes.

The family has put its faith in the attention the case is now getting from the Bring Our Families Home Campaign, which advocated for both Griner and North Texan Marine Trevor Reed.

For Shahin's family, there's hope in Griner's story, a happy ending that they'll never stop fighting for.

"We want our voice to be heard. That's all we want. That's all we can say. This is the only way,” said Dagher.

The Dallas Wings beat the Pheonix Mercury 84 to 79.

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