Griner speaks to reporters for first time since return from Russia

WNBA star Brittney Griner spoke to the media for the first time since returning to the U.S. after spending nine months in detainment in Russia, expressing her gratitude for the support she received throughout the ordeal.

During a news conference on Thursday, Griner first thanked the media for all the exposure and coverage they gave to her detainment and to her family. She also thanked the WNBA and her team, the Phoenix Mercury, and the Biden adminstration for their push to advocate for her release.

“I’m no stranger to hard times,” Griner said, holding back tears, when asked by a reporter about her resilience throughout her detention. “Just digging deep. You’re going to be faced with adversities in life. This was a pretty big one. I just relied on my hard work to get through it.”

When asked about Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter who is being detained by Russian authorities on spying charges, Griner said her team has been in touch with Gershkovich’s family, sharing knowledge about how to handle this situation since he’s in a different country.

“I have that mindset — no man, no woman left behind. So it hurts,” she said, noting how she grew up with a military background as her father served in the Vietnam War. “It hurts, it hurts. Because no one should be in those conditions. Like, hands down, no one should be in any of the conditions that I went through, or they’re going through.”

It’s been five months since the Biden administration secured the release of Griner from Russia in a prisoner swap with notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.

Griner, an eight-time WNBA All-Star, was serving a nine-year sentence at a Russian penal colony after being found guilty of possessing hashish oil at a Moscow airport in February 2022 — just days after Russia began its war with neighboring Ukraine. 

Griner, a two-time Olympic gold medalist for Team USA, officially re-signed with the Mercury earlier this year. Griner last appeared in the WNBA in 2021 as she and the Mercury clinched a WNBA Finals berth, only to lose to the then Candace Parker-led Chicago Sky in four games. 

Griner, who made several sporadic appearances since her release from detainment, and her team officially announced their partnership with Bring Our Families Home (BOFH), a campaign launched last year by the families of American hostages and wrongful detainees, in an effort to urge the Biden administration to take action to bring detainees home and provide resources for detainees’ families.

Griner also expressed her interest in using her platform to speak up and fight against the recent push and state legislatures and Congress to implement laws to prevent transgender athletes from competing in sports.

“​​Everyone deserves the right to come here, sit in the seats and feel safe and not feel like there’s a threat or they can’t be who they are or … like it’s just all eyes on them,” Griner said. “So I think it’s crime, honestly to separate someone for any reason. So definitely, will be speaking up  against those that legislation and those laws that are trying to be passed for sure.”