Brittney Griner speaks out for first time since return from Russian prison: ‘Battle at every turn’
WASHINGTON — Two-time Olympic gold medalist and WNBA star Brittney Griner recalled her time locked up in Russia as a “battle at every turn” in her first statement Friday since returning to the US as part of a prisoner swap with Russia.
Griner, 32, was released in exchange for convicted international arms dealer Viktor Bout on Dec. 8, almost 10 months after she was busted at a Moscow airport with cannabis oil in February.
“It feels so good to be home! The last 10 months have been a battle at every turn,” she said on Instagram after her release from a military medical facility at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, where she underwent a freed prisoner reintegration program upon her return to the US last week.
Griner said she had “dug deep to keep my faith” that she would eventually be returned to the US throughout her legal battle. She spent eight months in a Russian jail before she was moved to a penal colony after a court rejected the appeal of her nine-year sentence.
“It was the love from so many of you that helped keep me going,” she said. “From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone for your help.”
Griner – who had gone to Moscow to play for a Russian basketball team during the WNBA offseason – also announced she intended to return to the Phoenix Mercury for her 10th season as a professional.
“In doing so, I look forward to being able to say ‘thank you’ to those of you who advocated, wrote, and posted for me in person soon,” she said.
She thanked several other advocates, including wife Cherelle, her “entire WNBA family” and “President Biden, Vice President [Kamala] Harris, Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken, and the entire Biden-Harris Administration.”
The Instagram post included two photos of Griner’s return: one of her stepping off a plane with a wide smile across her face and another of her tightly embracing her wife after her return.
The White House was criticized for accepting a deal that did not include the return of Paul Whelan, an American citizen who has been imprisoned in Russia for nearly four years on trumped-up espionage charges.
“President Biden, you brought me home and I know you are committed to bringing Paul Whelan and all Americans home too,” Griner wrote Friday. “I will use my platform to do whatever I can to help you. I also encourage everyone that played a part in bringing me home to continue their efforts to bring all Americans home. Every family deserves to be whole.”
Cherelle Griner had also called for Whelan’s release from Russian captivity in an Instagram post last week, urging advocates to “continue to use our hands, voices, platforms, and resources to bring Paul and all Americans home.”
In another emotional Instagram post on Tuesday, Cherelle Griner expressed gratitude for “the collective efforts of MANY!” for her spouse’s return.
“To care for another, a stranger to some, a friend to some— is humanity in its purest form,” she said. “As BG and I start our journey to heal our minds, bodies, and spirits – I wanted to personally say thank you to some of the hands; seen and unseen, that helped make it possible for me to see my wife again!”
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