Brittney Griner has spoken for the first time as a member of the Phoenix Mercury WNBA franchise since returning to US soil from her detention in Russia.
Griner began to cry during her press conference after a reporter struggled to control her emotions and began to cry as she asked the opening question.
“I’m no stranger to tough times,” Griner said of how she survived detention. “Just dig deep honestly.
“Never focus too much on the now and look forward to what’s to come.”
Griner initially thanked the media for the notoriety she received, which ultimately played a role in her release, before bizarrely demanding the litany of reporters to attend and cover the WNBA in the same way.
Brittney Griner got emotional after a reporter started crying as she asked a question
“I would like to encourage all of you to be there for our first game and our whole season and also the whole competition, from start to finish. I expect to see the same coverage because we have a great product.”
The 32-year-old was in a thankful mood, thanking the Mercury, alongside President Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and a host of others.
The controversial athlete admitted she was somewhat aware of the support and offered advice to those in a situation during her time in Russia.
‘Stay strong. Keep fighting, don’t give up. Just keep waking up, find some routine and stick to that routine as best you can.
“We will not stop fighting, we will not stop raising awareness for everyone who is now left behind.”
The 6-foot-9 center has been playing professionally in Russia since 2014 and returned to the country last February when she was stopped at Moscow airport with vape cartridges containing cannabis oil.
Finally, in August, she was sentenced to nine years in prison on drug charges. A subsequent appeal was rejected in October. However, she was released from a Russian penal colony on Dec. 8 after President Joe Biden approved an exchange, sending convicted arms dealer Viktor Bout, also 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 engaged in the polarizing trade for her release. She was detained in Russia for 10 months.
A CNN reporter asked Griner a loaded multifaceted question, including whether she would play abroad again.
“I will never go abroad to play again unless I represent my country in the Olympics. If I made that team, that would be the only time I would leave American soil to represent the US.”
Griner, whose wife Cherelle also attended, has shunned reporters since she was 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 Cherel.
ESPN selected Griner’s return as the opening coverage of the upcoming WNBA season
The center, 32, will play for the Phoenix Mercury after serving 10 months in Russia
Since returning to American soil, Griner signed a one-year deal with the Phoenix Mercury – the last WNBA team she played for before being retained. Griner’s first game will air on ESPN May 19 against the LA Sparks.
Griner was imprisoned for a short time in the IK-2 penal colony in the Mordovian town of Yavas
She is preparing to release a memoir next year about her arrest in Moscow in 2022, her drug trial and the subsequent 10 months of detention, the last few weeks of which in a Russian penal colony.
‘That day [in February] was the beginning of an unfathomable period in my life that I am only now willing to share,” Griner said in a statement released Tuesday by publisher Alfred A. Knopf.
She hopes her book will help other Americans held abroad, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in Russia last month and charged with espionage; and Paul Whelan, who is being held on espionage charges.
Griner is an eight-time U.S. All-Star and one of only 11 players to win an Olympic gold medal, FIBA World Cup gold medal, WNBA title and an NCAA title, capturing them in Baylor in 2012.