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WNBA basketball star Brittney Griner released her first statement since being released from Russia earlier this month as part of a high-profile prisoner swap with the United States.
In a Friday Instagram post, Griner thanked a long list of people who advocated for her return, with a "special thank you to President Biden, Vice President Harris, Secretary Blinken and the entire Biden-Harris Administration."
"It feels so good to be home!" she wrote alongside a photo of her disembarking a plane. "The last 10 months have been a battle at every turn. I dug deep to keep my faith and it was the love from so many of you that helped keep me going. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone for your help."
The U.S. swapped Griner for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout earlier this month. Griner had been detained earlier this year after officials at a Moscow airport said they found vaping cartridges containing hashish oil in her luggage. In August, she was sentenced to nine years in prison.
In her Instagram post, Griner said she intends to return to the WNBA and play the next season with the Phoenix Mercury, a team she's been a part of since 2013.
The basketball player also said she remained dedicated to ensuring the return of other U.S. citizens who have been detained abroad, including former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who is serving a 16-year jail sentence after being arrested in Moscow on suspicion of spying in 2018.
"I will use my platform to do whatever I can to help you," she wrote to Whelan.
The omission of Whelan's release from the December 8 prisoner swap drew widespread attention, as some questioned why the Biden administration did not include him in the deal.
Although Whelan's family said they were "absolutely supportive" of Griner's release, they continued to urge the White House to find a path to bring the former Marine home.
Read her full statement below:
It feels so good to be home! The last 10 months have been a battle at every turn. I dug deep to keep my faith and it was the love from so many of you that helped keep me going. From the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone for your help.
I am grateful to each person who advocated for me, especially my wife, Cherelle Griner, my family, Lindsay Kagawa Colas and Casey Wasserman and my whole team at Wasserman, Vince Kozar and the Phoenix Mercury, the players of the WNBA, and my entire WNBA family, Terri Jackson and the WNBPA staff, my Russian legal team Maria Blagovolina and Alex Boykov, the leaders, activists, and grassroots organizations, Gov. Richardson and Mickey Bergman of the Richardson Center, the Bring Our Families Home Campaign, Roger Carstens and the SPEHA team, and of course, a special thank you to President Biden, Vice President Harris, Secretary Blinken and the entire Biden-Harris Administration.
President Biden, you brought me home and I know you are committed to bringing Paul Whelan and all Americans home too. I will use my platform to do whatever I can to help you. I also encourage everyone that played a part in bringing me home to continue their efforts to bring all Americans home. Every family deserves to be whole.
As I transition home to enjoy the holidays with my family, I want to acknowledge and thank the entire PISA staff and medical team at the San Antonio Fort Sam Houston Base. I appreciate the time and care to make sure I was okay and equipped with the tools for this new journey.
I also want to make one thing very clear: I intend to play basketball for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury this season, and in doing so, I look forward to being able to say 'thank you' to those of you who advocated, wrote, and posted for me in person soon.
Love always,
BG #42
About the writer
Katherine Fung is a Newsweek senior reporter based in New York City. She has covered U.S. politics and culture extensively. ... Read more