WNBA Star Brittney Griner has been reunited with her family and she’s speaking out to the world for the first time since her return to American soil. As Mamas Uncut previously reported, Griner was imprisoned in Russia for 10 months after she was detained for carrying hash oil through a Russian airport.
Brittney Griner Issues First Statement After Being Released from Hospital and Reunited With Her Family
After being found guilty and sentenced to 9 years in prison, Griner was transferred from a Russian jail to a Russian penal colony where conditions are far from easy. However, several days ago, the US government was able to strike a deal with Russia and engaged in a prisoner swap, making it possible for Brittney to come home.
Now, alongside pictures of her walking off an airplane and hugging her beloved wife, Brittney is speaking out for the first time. “It feels so good to be home! The last 10 months have been a battle at every turn. I dug deep to keep my faith and it was the love from so many of you that helped keep me going. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone for your help.”
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Brittney continued, writing, “I am grateful to each person who advocated for me, especially my wife, Cherelle Griner, my family, Lindsay Kagawa Colas and Casey Wasserman and my whole team at Wasserman, Vince Kozar and the Phoenix Mercury, the players of the WNBA, and my entire WNBA family, Terri Jackson and the WNBPA staff, my Russian legal team Maria Blagovolina and Alex Boykov, the leaders, activists, and grassroots organizations, Gov. Richardson and Mickey Bergman of the Richardson Center, the Bring Our Families Home Campaign, Roger Carstens and the SPEHA team, and of course, a special thank you to President Biden, Vice President Harris, Secretary Blinken and the entire Biden-Harris Administration.”
As her statement continued, Griner also mentioned Paul Whelan, who many believed should have been the first prisoner brought home before Griner. “President Biden, you brought me home and I know you are committed to bringing Paul Whelan and all Americans home too,” Griner added.
“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. As I transition home to enjoy the holidays with my family, I want to acknowledge and thank the entire PISA staff and medical team at the San Antonio Fort Sam Houston Base. I appreciate the time and care to make sure I was okay and equipped with the tools for this new journey.”
Griner then addressed in status as a WNBA player as she concluded her message. “I also want to make one thing very clear: I intend to play basketball for the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury this season, and 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.”
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