Brittney Griner has spoken for the first time as a member of the Phoenix Mercury WNBA franchise since arriving back on US soil following her detainment in Russia.
Griner began to cry during her press conference after a reporter struggled to keep her emotions in check and began crying while asking the opening question.
‘I’m no stranger to hard times,’ Griner said of how she survived detainment. ‘Just digging deep honestly.
‘Never get too focused on the now and looking forward to what’s to come.’
Griner initially thanked the media for the exposure she was given, which ultimately played a role in her release before bizarrely demanding the litany of reporters to attend and cover the WNBA in the same fashion.
Brittney Griner became emotional after a reporter began to cry while asking a question
‘I would like to encourage all of you to be at our first game and our whole entire season, and the whole entire league as well, from start to finish. I expect to see this same coverage ’cause we have a great product.’
The 32-year-old was in a grateful mood, thanking the Mercury, alongside President Joe Biden, Kamala Harris among a host of others.
The controversial athlete admitted she was somewhat aware of the support and offered words of advice for those in a situation to her time in Russia.
‘Stay strong. Keep fighting, don’t give up. Just keep waking up, find a little routine and stick to that routine best you can.
‘We’re not going to stop fighting, we’re not going to stop bringing awareness to everyone that’s left behind right now.’
The 6-foot-9 center had played professionally in Russia since 2014, was returning to the country last February when she was stopped at Moscow airport with vape cartridges containing cannabis oil.
Ultimately, she was convicted in August and sentenced to nine years in a Russian prison on drugs charges. A subsequent appeal was denied in October. She was, however, released from a Russian penal colony on December 8 after President Joe Biden sanctioned an exchange, giving convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout, otherwise known as ‘The Merchant of Death’, back to Russia.
Griner was assigned to a Mordovian penal colony, a region known for its brutal prison system, until the Biden administration made the polarizing trade for her release. She was detained in Russia for 10 months.
Griner was in a largely jovial mood as reporters asked her questions filled with great empathy
A CNN reporter asked Griner a loaded multi-faceted question which included whether she would be playing overseas again.
‘I’m never going overseas to play again unless I represent my country at the Olympics. If I make that team, that’d be the only time I would leave U.S. soil to represent the USA.’
The CNN reporter asked if Griner and other WNBA players felt a ‘need’ to play overseas. This comes despite the 2022 league-wide average salary sitting in excess of six-figures.
‘I’ll say this, the whole reason a lot of us go over is the pay gap. A lot of us go over there to make an income to support our families, to support ourselves.
‘I’m hoping that our league continues to grow. With as many people in here right now covering this, I hope you continue to cover our league, bring exposure to us.
‘It’s a shame that we have to leave our families for holidays, you’re missing everything being away. As much as I would love to pay my light bill for the love of the game, I can’t,’ Griner, who will earn $165,100 this season, said.
The former Baylor standout, who said ‘it was good being back on U.S. soil’, has ostensibly found a new level of gratitude for her home country, despite her vocal criticisms of the nation. She has previously refused to stand for the national anthem. In 2020 she went as far as to suggest the WNBA ‘should not play the national anthem during our season’ and would not be on-court for The Star Spangled Banner.
Griner has shied away from reporters since being released but has made several notable public appearances, ranging from a women’s empowerment luncheon held by Reverend Al Sharpton’s National Action Network to Super Bowl LVII in Arizona, where she was seen with Cherelle.
Griner’s wife, Cherelle, was in attendance during Thursday’s new conference in Phoenix, AZ.
ESPN chose Griner’s return as its game-opening coverage of the upcoming WNBA season
The center, 32, is set to play for the Phoenix Mercury after being held in Russia for 10 months
Griner was briefly imprisoned at the IK-2 penal colony in the town of Yavas in Mordovia
Since her return to US soil Griner signed a one-year deal with the Phoenix Mercury – the last WNBA team she played for prior to being detained. Griner’s first game will be aired on ESPN May 19 vs. the LA Sparks.
She is preparing to release a memoir next year about her 2022 arrest in Moscow, drug trial, and subsequent 10-month detention, the last few weeks of which were spent in a Russian penal colony.
‘That day [in February] was the beginning of an unfathomable period in my life which only now am I ready to share,’ Griner said in a statement released Tuesday by publisher Alfred A. Knopf.
She hopes her book will help other Americans detained overseas, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in Russia last month and accused of espionage; and Paul Whelan, who is being held on spying charges.
Griner is an eight-time All-Star in the US and one of only 11 players to win an Olympic gold medal, FIBA World Cup gold medal, WNBA title, and an NCAA title, which she captured at Baylor in 2012.
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