Brittney Griner departed a medical military facility in Texas on Friday, according to her Instagram feed, after arriving there one week ago following 10 months in Russian custody.
For the two-time Olympic gold medalist, who was released last week in a prisoner swap after nearly 300 days in Russian custody, the day marks another step in her reintegration into American life.
In an Instagram post, she thanked her family, the WNBA, advocates and US President Joe Biden, among others.
“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,” she wrote, referencing American citizen Whelan, who has been detained in Russia since 2018.
“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,” she added.
Some background: Griner’s detention, after Russian officials found vape cartridges containing cannabis oil in her luggage, became an international cause during a delicate time in relations between Washington and Moscow. US officials deemed it a wrongful detention.
She had traveled to Russia to play basketball in the WNBA offseason and was arrested on drug smuggling charges at an airport in the Moscow region.
Despite her testimony that she had inadvertently packed the cannabis oil in her luggage, Griner was sentenced to nine years in prison in early August and was moved to a penal colony in the Mordovia republic in mid-November after losing her appeal.
The Phoenix Mercury center became a pawn in Russia’s war in Ukraine and returned to the US on Dec. 9 after a prisoner swap for notorious convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
Griner had been staying at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio for routine evaluation. She has been staying with her wife, Cherelle Griner, in a residential facility on the base.
Her arrest and conviction brought attention to the plight of other Americans in Russian custody, including Paul Whelan and Trevor Reed. Whelan’s release could not be secured in the latest prisoner swap, while Reed returned to the US in April after a nearly three-year ordeal.
