Washington (AFP) - Basketball star Brittney Griner blazed a trail as a US Olympic champion and LGBTQ pioneer before her career was abruptly disrupted by her arrest and imprisonment in Moscow in a Cold War-style standoff between the United States and Russia.
The 32-year-old's nine-month ordeal -- which unfolded against the backdrop of soaring tensions over the Ukraine war -- came to an end Thursday as the United States secured her release in a prisoner swap with a Russian arms dealer.
One of the leading players of her generation, Griner is among only 11 players to have won an Olympic gold medal, WNBA title, Women's Basketball World Cup crown and US college championship.She twice helped drive the US women's national team to Olympic gold.
In February 2013, Griner came out publicly as a lesbian in an interview with Sports Illustrated.Her endorsement deal with Nike was its first with an openly gay athlete.
"I'm just trying to help out," Griner told People magazine at the time."I'm just trying to make it not as tough for the next generation."
Griner was convicted by a Russian court on drugs charges in August 2022 and sentenced to nine years in prison.
Her release was widely hailed, with some supporters suggesting that the towering 6-foot-9 (2.06 meter) athlete had been targeted because of her nationality, her race and her prominence as a top LGBTQ athlete.
"The fact that Griner was both Black and LGBTQ+ made her even more of a target -- and the treatment that she faced in the Russian Court system even more horrific," the National Black Justice Coalition rights group said in a statement thanking the Biden administration for its role in her release.
Her wife Cherelle Watson Griner, whom she married in 2019, was at the White House when President Joe Biden announced Griner was heading home.
Cherelle said she was "overwhelmed with emotions" after the "darkest moments of my life."
The news was greeted with delight by former president Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and retired tennis superstar Billie Jean King, an outspoken advocate for gay and women's rights.
Career in Russia
Griner had played in the WNBA off-season for UMMC Ekaterinburg, like many US pros seeking out the higher pay in Russia than they can earn in the US league.
But on February 17, 2022, one week before Russian troops invaded Ukraine, she was detained at the Moscow international airport as she was leaving and accused of drug smuggling, for carrying vape cartridges with cannabis oil in her luggage.
The WNBA star said she had permission from a US doctor to use medicinal cannabis to relieve pain from her many injuries.
Russian officials snubbed pleas to release her, and she was put on trial and sentenced to imprisonment in August, before being transferred to a Russian penal colony in November.
Conditions there were likely harsh, and WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert said Thursday that Griner had "shown extraordinary courage and dignity in the face of enormous adversity."
A Texas native, Griner led Baylor University to the 2012 US college title, was the first overall pick in the 2013 WNBA Draft, and helped the Phoenix Mercury win the 2014 WNBA crown.She is an eight-time WNBA All-Star center.
"I think we take for granted sometimes how amazing she is," US and Phoenix teammate Diana Taurasi said last year.
