More than four months after her release from Russian custody, US basketball player Brittney Grinner (32) answered questions from numerous journalists at a large press conference. For the first time, the professional athlete gave an emotional insight into her emotional world and the time of her imprisonment and her return to US soil. Among the audience was her wife Cherelle Griner (29), whom she thanked for her support right at the beginning of the conference.
Tears flowed from the first question. “Hard times are no stranger to me,” Griner explained to a journalist when asked how she got through the experiences. “One faces adversity in life. It was quite a big one. I relied on my hard work to get through it.” In prison, she never lost hope and tried to focus on what was to come.
She was always aware of the great support from the USA. She knew that people were fighting for her release. The fact that she received such messages again and again, although with a time delay, contributed to her well-being.
At the press conference, Griner also found words of encouragement for all Americans who are wrongly being held abroad. “Stay strong, keep fighting. Find a routine and stick to it.” That helped her in prison. “Whenever I lost hope, I looked at photos of my family. That brought my hope back.” Then she knew what she was waiting for – to be in a safe place with her family, with her loved ones.
“It feels good to be back on US soil,” Griner said at the press conference. She will probably not be traveling abroad anytime soon – with one exception. “I will never play abroad again unless I’m representing my country at the Olympics,” she said. “If I make the team, it would be the only time I leave American soil.”
Brittney Griner was arrested on February 17, 2022 at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport when she entered Russia because she had a small amount of hash oil in her luggage. She was sentenced to nine years in prison on charges of illegal drug possession and smuggling. In December 2022, Griner was released after the US reached an agreement with Russia on a prisoner swap.
