Brittney Griner Says She Won't Play Overseas Again After Being Jailed in Russia

Brittney Griner, in her first full press conference since returning from Russia, said she’ll never play overseas again unless it’s in the Olympics, and she expressed support for those still detained abroad and for transgender athletes at home.

“That would be the only time I’ll leave the U.S. soil, and that’s just to represent the USA,” Griner said at the Thursday press conference in Phoenix, where she plays center for the WNBA’s Mercury.

Griner had just arrived in Russia in February 2022 to play for a team there during the WNBA’s off-season when she was arrested for drug possession. A small amount of hashish oil was found in vape cartridges in her luggage. She ended up being tried, convicted, and sentenced to spend nine years in a Russian prison, but the Biden administration was able to arrange her release through a prisoner swap in December. She will be playing again for the Mercury this season, which starts in May.

She said she doesn’t judge anyone who goes overseas to play basketball, noting that many WNBA players do it to supplement their income. She hopes the league’s audience can grow and athletes’ salaries can rise.

One reporter asked Griner if she felt any guilt about having been released when others are still detained in Russia, including former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, both accused of espionage.

“If I could have went and got them out or any of that, of course, I would have,” she said. President Biden feels the same way, she added.

“It hurts, because no one should be in those conditions,” she said. “Hands down, no one should be in any of the conditions I went through or they’re going through.”

She is dedicated to using her platform to raise awareness of those wrongfully detained in other countries, she said. The Mercury will be encouraging fans to write letters to the families of detainees. While she was in Russia, she found that receiving letters, even from people she didn’t know, “just gives you, like, the spark of life,” she said.

Another journalist asked her about the tide of legislation seeking to keep transgender athletes from playing on teams matching their gender identity. She said she will make fighting those moves a priority.

“Everyone deserves the right to play,” said Griner, a cisgender lesbian. Everyone should be able to be who they are, she noted. “I think it’s a crime to separate someone for any reason,” she said.

She thanked Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and all those who worked for her release, and said that looking at pictures of her family sustained her while she was in detention. Her wife, Cherelle, was with Biden at the White House when news of her release was announced.

Knowing of the efforts on her behalf, Griner said, “made me a little bit more comfortable.” She also stayed strong by “digging deep” and looking to the future, she said.

To those still in detention, she advised, “Stay strong, keep fighting, don’t give up, keep waking up, find a little routine and stick to that routine.”

She added that her experience has made her treasure each day. She learned “not to take anything for granted; life is short,” she said. She’s heard that many times in her life, but, she said, “once something like this happens to you … it hits closer to you.”

Watch the press conference below.

Watch's Brittney Griner's 1st Full Press Conference ahead of the WNBA Season Startwww.youtube.com