Newly released Brittney Griner is already back out on the court dunking after picking up a basketball for the first time in 10 months.
Griner was released from prison on Thursday after being detained in Russia since February. The WNBA star was said to be going through hell in prison, after moving to Mordovia in November, but US officials have finally negotiated her release.
While wearing Phoenix Suns shorts and a T-shirt touting Title IX, Griner was said to have gone to a gym on Sunday after landing in San Antonio, and her first move was a slam dunk according to her agent. The 32-year-old has not decided her future since returning from Russia, but is still on the books at WNBA side Phoenix Mercury.
"If she wants to play, it will be for her to share. She has the holidays to rest and decide what's next without any pressure," her agent Lindsay Kagawa Colas said. "She's doing really, really well. She seems to have endured this in pretty incredible ways."
Griner is yet to speak out following the ordeal, but a statement is expected 'this week', her agent confirmed. Griner has been staying at a hotel in the military base Fort Sam Houston, since arriving back in the United States.
US officials got Griner back on American soil after negotiating a prisoner swap with Russia. President Joe Biden agreed to send notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout the other way, ripping up his 25-year prison sentence.
The swap was completed in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, before Biden addressed the nation from the White House. Griner was detained in Russia back in February after she was accused of bringing cannabis oil in her luggage to a Moscow airport.
Griner, who is an eight-time WNBA All-Star and champion in 2014 with the Phoenix Mercury, was travelling to Russia to play for UMMC Ekaterinburg, as she has done every off-season since 2014, when she was arrested. Griner was then sentenced to nine years back in August - following her arrest months prior.
She had appealed her sentence in an attempt to serve reduced jail time, but that request was denied, leaving her forced to serve her nine-years given. US officials were actively trying to free her from the country, and ramped up efforts after she was transported to Mordovia.
According to The Nation , the prisoners in Mordovia are barely treated like humans, as there is extreme homophobia, racism and even gruelling work days that last 16 hours. Musician Nadya Tolokonnikova gave an account of Mordovia after she spent two years there.
Griner is now safe and freed in the United States, and may open up about her future when the expected statement is made.
