According to her Instagram feed, Britney Griner left a medical military facility in Texas on Friday, arriving there a week ago after being detained in Russia for 10 months.
For the two-time Olympic gold medalist, who was released last week in a prisoner exchange after spending nearly 300 days in Russian custody, the day marks another step in her reintegration into American life.
of Instagram postshe thanked her family, the WNBA, advocates, US President Joe Biden, and more.
“President Biden, you brought me home. I know you promised to bring Paul Whelan and all Americans home. We will do everything we can to help you with our platform in order to continue our efforts to bring every American home. Every family deserves to be whole.
“I want to make one thing clear: I will be playing basketball for the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA this season. I will be posting directly for me soon,” she added.
background: Griner’s detention has become an international cause at a time when relations between Washington and Moscow are strained after Russian officials found e-cigarette cartridges containing cannabis oil in his luggage. considered detention.
She traveled to Russia to play basketball during the WNBA offseason and was arrested on drug smuggling charges at an airport in the Moscow region.
Despite her testimony that she inadvertently packed cannabis oil in her luggage, Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison in early August and, after losing her appeal, was transferred to a penal colony in the Republic of Mordovia in mid-November. it was done.
The Phoenix Mercury Center returned to the US on Dec. 9 after a prisoner swap with the notorious convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout, who became a pawn in the Russian war in Ukraine.
Griner was staying at Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio for routine evaluations. She is staying with her wife, Sherrel Griner, in an on-base residential facility.
Her arrest and conviction drew attention to the plight of other Americans detained in Russia, including Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed. Whelan’s release was not secured in the latest prisoner exchange, but Reid returned to the United States in April after nearly three years of ordeal.
