Brittney Griner.Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty
One year afterBrittney Grinerwasdetained in Russia on drug smuggling charges— and two months aftershe was released in a prisoner swap— WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert said she was able to meet with the Phoenix Mercury star for the first time.
“I met with her in Phoenix,” Engelbert told Poppy Harlow today onCNN This Morningahead ofNBA All-Star Weekend. “Brittney is doing remarkably well, and she’sstarting to train. We’re so excited to have her back in the league after an awful ordeal.”
Engelbert said that the WNBA waited to meet with the two-time Olympic gold medalist to give her some space after returning from Russia.
“We wanted to give her the holidays to meet with family and friends,” Engelbert said. “Just a remarkable experience. She has a remarkable story about what she went through, but we’re looking forward to having her back in the W.”
Griner, 32, is looking forward to playing again, Engelbert said, and believes she willreturn to Phoenix Mercury, the team she has played for since 2013.
“She is an unrestricted free agent currently,” Engelbert said. “Presumably she’s expressed she wants to play for Phoenix, the Mercury, and we’ll see what happens in the next couple weeks or so.”
Brittney Griner and wife.Darryl Webb/AP/Shutterstock
The 6'9" pro baller is slowly returning to public life since her release from Russia.
The sighting came one day afterBrittney surprised fans and onlookersat the WM Phoenix Open golf tournament Saturday.
Brittney and Cherelle, 30, previously stepped out for theMartin Luther King Jr.Day march in Phoenix last month. “Glad to be home,” she told supporters during the outing.
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Griner was detained in Russia on drug smuggling charges one year ago today for allegedly possessing hash oil in her luggage.
Theprisoner swap took placeThursday, Dec. 8. in the United Arab Emirates, 10 months after Brittney was first incarcerated. “It feels so good to be home,” she wrote in a heartfelt statement shortly after her release.
“The first night, we didn’t sleep at all,“Cherelle exclusively told PEOPLEin December, laughing. “We just talked all night long and all morning. And it was so good to be able to do it without three weeks in between the conversation, because for 10 months we were passing letters. It was great to have that dialogue back and forth.”
source: people.com
