What Brittney Griner is doing right now is nothing short of amazing. Period.
The Phoenix Mercury center just returned from being wrongfully detained in Russia for 10 months at the tail end of 2022. Today, she’s gearing up for the WNBA season with the Mercury just five months later.
Not only that, but she’s also somehow openly talking about her traumatic experience. Griner spoke to the media on Thursday for the first time since her return and she did it with a smile on her face and a twinkle in her eye.
She was incredibly candid about the circumstances and her feelings after making it through everything she’d experienced. And, honestly, it was nothing short of admirable.
Here are the 7 best moments from the press conference.
She gave her wife, Cherelle, praise for her hard work
Griner’s biggest advocate while she was being wrongfully detained was her wife, Cherelle. She kept the pressure on while Brittney was detained and was the first person to find out when she was coming back.
So Griner praised her during the press conference and it was such a sweet moment.
Brittney Griner thanks her wife, Cherelle, at the start of her press conference. “She had the hardest job, honestly.” During BG’s wrongful detainment, Cherelle worked tirelessly to keep this conversation at the forefront, her enduring love instrumental in BG’s return home. pic.twitter.com/4XPoHVxATk
— Myles (@MylesEhrlich) April 27, 2023
She talked about staying resilient
ESPN’s Holly Rowe asked Griner how she managed to stay so resilient during her detainment and was moved to tears. Then, Griner also began crying as she answered the question and did her best to explain her mentality.
She said “I’m not stranger to hard times” and then got choked up.
"I'm no stranger to hard times."
–Brittney Griner on her resilience pic.twitter.com/jdRWf4Luzc
— ESPN (@espn) April 27, 2023
“Just digging deep, honestly. You’re going to be faced with adversities throughout your life. This was a pretty big one. But I just kind of relied on my hard work and getting through it. This sounds so small, but dying in practice. And just hard workouts. You find a way to just grind it out and keep going and keep moving forward. That was my thing. Just never be still. Never get too focused on the now and looking forward to what’s to come.”
She also noted that she saw the support that she received from people in the United States and that it helped her keep her hopes up.
“Being aware of what’s going on when you don’t know anything…those times when I was able to see what’s going on…it helped me to have hope: a really hard thing to have—a really dangerous thing to have…” – Brittney Griner
— Arielle (Ari) Chambers (@ariivory) April 27, 2023
All the love she was showed worked. You absolutely love to see it.
She's never playing overseas again
Griner said that, after what she just experienced, she’ll never play ball overseas again unless it’s to play for Team USA. That’s not an insignificant thing.
The WNBA’s maximum salary is $250,000. Griner could get paid far more than that by taking a contract from a team overseas. She’s willing to forgo that financial gain for her peace of mind.
She spoke to that, and the WNBA’s pay gap, in her press conference.
Brittney Griner says she has no intention to play basketball overseas again — unless it’s to represent Team USA. Griner added the 'pay gap' spurred her decision to play basketball in Russia, where she was later detained. pic.twitter.com/dmUuOahtqs
— NowThis (@nowthisnews) April 27, 2023
“The whole reason a lot of us go over is the pay gap. A lot of us go over there to make an income, support our families and support ourselves. So I don’t knock any player that wants to go overseas and make a bit of extra money. I’m hoping that our league continues to grow and, with as many people in here right now covering this, I hope you continue to cover our league and bring exposure to us. I hope a lot of these companies start to invest in our craft.”
That’s a tough situation to be in for Griner and for other WNBA players who continue to play overseas.
Seeing Diana Taurasi when she first got back
Diana Taurasi was the first teammate Griner saw upon her return to the United States because, well, of course she was.
Griner said seeing DT brought her some relief.
Brittney Griner on returning home: "[Diana Taurasi] was the first player I was able to see. It was a relief. It's hard to realize it's happening, like 'I'm really here. It's really my teammates here.' It was liberating… it was such a good feeling." (Q: @eliavgabay)
— Myles (@MylesEhrlich) April 27, 2023
She also called Diana a walking fossil.
“Who wouldn’t want to play with a walking fossil” -BG on being back playing with Diana Taurasi 😂😂😂
— Arielle (Ari) Chambers (@ariivory) April 27, 2023
That’s definitely going to go over well in practice.
She dunked on her wife
Literally. Brittney Griner dunked on her wife. She was asked about her first experience picking up a ball when she came back to the U.S. and she said it felt good.
She also hilariously threw in the fact that her wife was on the wrong end of it all.
"That's a good question for my wife. Ask her how it felt getting dunked on." 😂
BG threw it down the first time she touched a basketball after her return pic.twitter.com/MFo1cawMiz
— NBA TV (@NBATV) April 27, 2023
“I thought I was, like, 16 again. My ankles didn’t like it. It was good. I threw it down just to see. I was like ‘Let me see if I can still throw this thing down.’ And I did. You have to ask…That’s a good question for my wife. Ask her how it felt to get dunked on. Oops. Did I say that out loud?”
El. Oh. El.
She said she would continue to advocate for other detainees as well
One of the points of controversy in Griner’s return home for some people was the fact that there were other prisoners who were also wrongfully detained by Russian authorities who weren’t also brought home. Specifically, Paul Whelan, who was detained by Russian authorities back in 2018.
To be clear, that’s not on Griner. It’s not a decision for her to make. It’s fine to be thankful that Griner is home and still advocate for other prisoners, too. That’s exactly what Griner said she’s doing in her press conference.
“It’s hard. I come from a military family. I have that mindset ‘no one left behind.’ …I hope that everyone continues to bring awareness to [Paul Whalen and those wrongfully detained]” – BG on whether or not she feels guilty for being released but not the others
— Arielle (Ari) Chambers (@ariivory) April 27, 2023
Griner said her team is already in touch with Whelan’s and are working together to share information and find solutions.
That’s the best we can ask for.
