WNBA star Brittney Griner continues to try to get back to her life after returning to the United States in December after spending 10 months in a Russian prison and in the process has let it be known that she plans to continue fighting for her compatriots imprisoned in other countries.
In her first press conference since her arrival in the United States, Griner referred to what she felt while she was locked up and how much receiving support from so many people helped her, so she will do her best to make the American prisoners abroad, also feel that support.
“I was aware of the effort and everything that was happening (to bring me back), from the #WeAreBG campaign. Just knowing and being aware of that made me a little more comfortable, it made me hopeful, which is a really hard thing to have, a really dangerous thing because when it doesn’t work it’s devastating,” she confessed.
“To all those unjustly detained around the world, stay strong, keep fighting, don’t give up (…). Keep pushing because we are not going to stop fighting, we are not going to stop raising awareness about all those who were left behind,” added the Phoenix Mercury player.
Brittney Griner was arrested at a Russian airport in February 2022 for carrying hashish oil cartridges to vape when she was going to take a plane. By August of the same year, she was sentenced to nine years in jail for drug possession and smuggling.
The US authorities led by President Joe Biden announced in December an agreement with Russia to free her in exchange for the arms dealer Víktor But.
“It’s a little different than a basketball press conference. There are a lot of media here today…”, she said jokingly at the expectation generated by this act at the Footprint Center in Phoenix five months after returning home.
The basketball player once again expressed her gratitude to President Biden, to the media, to the WNBA and the Phoenix Mercury, to his wife and to all those who worked so that he could return.
Griner, who was in tears from the first question, said that going through “hard times” was not something new for her. “You are going to face adversity throughout your life. And this was a pretty big one, ”she pointed out, noting that, as in her sports career, she tried to“ put her head down and move on ”.
The Mercury center also spoke about her situation, now back in the US, while other American prisoners such as the journalist Evan Gershkovich and the ex-military man Paul Whelan are still behind bars in Russia, and reflected, when asked by a journalist, about if he felt any kind of “guilt” for it.
“It is difficult, it is difficult. I come from a military family and have that ‘leave no one behind’ mentality. It hurts because no one should be in those conditions, without a doubt (…) I hope that we all continue to raise awareness and fight to bring everyone back, “he sentenced.
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