Brittney Griner Plans To Play Basketball Again, Thanks Biden, Advocates For Paul Whelan

WNBA superstar Brittney Griner revealed she plans to continue playing basketball professionally this season.

These are her first public comments since she was released from a Russian penal colony earlier this month in a one-for-one prisoner swap for international arms dealer Viktor Bout, per a Wall Street Journal report.

In her Instagram post on Friday, Griner said that the last 10 months were a battle for her, but that she is now happy to be back home.

See Also: Brittney Griner Thanks Crew, Talked For Hours On Flight Home

“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,” Griner wrote.

Griner, the two-time Olympic Gold Medalist who had been playing for seven years on a famous Russian basketball team, was arrested one week before Russia invaded Ukraine. She was later charged and sentenced to nine years in prison for possessing less than a gram of cannabis oil (legally prescribed to her in the U.S.).

Upon her return to the U.S., she was evaluated at Brook Army Medical Center in San Antonio.

“It feels so good to be home!” she said. “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.”

What’s more, Griner said she plans to fight for the release of ex-U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, who’s been has been held in prison in Russia for over four years.

“President Biden, you brought me home and I know you are committed to bringing Paul Whelan and all Americans home too,” Griner wrote. “I will use my platform to do whatever I can to help you.”

Photo: Benzinga Edit; Sources: Proxima Studio by Shutterstock and Wikimedia Commons