Brittney Griner of the Phoenix Mercury speaks during a “Bring Our Families Home” press conference at Footprint Center on April 27, 2023, in Phoenix, Arizona. Griner was jailed in Russia for almost 10 months in 2022. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
*Brittney Griner got emotional while speaking about her Russian detainment during a press conference on Thursday.
The WNBA star spoke publicly to reporters for the first time since returning to the U.S. following her imprisonment in Russia, USA Today Sports reports.
Griner was arrested at Moscow Airport on Feb. 17, 2022, after customs officials allegedly found vape cartridges with hashish oil in her luggage. She traveled to Russia to play in the off-season but was ultimately convicted on drug smuggling charges and sentenced to 9 years in a Russian penal colony. She spent 10 months detained in the country before President Biden successfully negotiated her release in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout. Griner returned to the U.S. in December.
As the Daily Beast reports, Griner became emotional during Thursday’s news conference when asked what kind of “resilience” she relied upon while imprisoned overseas.
READ MORE: Brittney Griner Calls on Fans to Fight for Detainees Overseas | Video
“I’m no stranger to hard times,” Griner told reporters. “Just digging deep, honestly. You’re gonna be faced with adversities throughout your life. This was a pretty big one. But I just, kind of, relied on my hard work, getting through it. I know this sounds so small, but dying in practice and just hard workouts—you find a way to just grind it out, just put your head down and keep going.”
Griner said she felt “forgotten” while detained at a Russian penal colony.
“It’s so easy to feel forgotten, to feel like no one is thinking of you. It’s hard. I come from a military family. … I have that mindset, no man left behind. … It hurts because no one should be in those conditions that I went through or that they are going through,” she explained.
The seven-time All-Star said looking at photos of her family “brought my hope back.”
“Just being able to see their faces, that did it for me,” the Phoenix Mercury star continued. “In a moment where you want to give up, you look at the photos and it brings you back. You know what you’re waiting on—you’re waiting to be back with your family, with your loved ones in a safe place.”
Griner admitted during the news conference that getting back to playing form since her return home has been “a process.”
“Because as an athlete, you always want to be where you left off… And I wanted to be that player when I started back. Everybody is telling me to give myself grace, and it’s going to take time. But that’s the hardest thing to do to a pro athlete,” she said.
Griner also made clear that she’ll never play overseas again. The two-time Olympic gold medalist said her one exception would be “representing my country at the Olympics.” She added, “If I make that team, that would be the only time I would leave U.S. soil and that’s to represent the USA.”
The Mercury will play the Seattle Storm on May 9.
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