Brittney Griner celebrated her return home to the United States over the weekend with a slam dunk, according to ESPN.
The WNBA star was back on the court Sunday at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, after being held in Russia for nearly 10 months for allegedly attempting to bring contraband into the country.
Griner Returns To Basketball Court With Celebratory Slam Dunk, Still Unsure Of Return To WNBA
The 32-year-old donned Phoenix Suns shorts, a pair of Chuck Taylor sneakers, and a T-shirt promoting Title IX during a light workout at the facility, her agent Lindsay Kagawa Colas told the outlet. Footage of the slam dunk was not immediately available as of Monday.
However, Colas went on to say that Griner is not yet ready to say when, or if, she plans to return to her career with the Phoenix Mercury, adding “if she wants to play, it will be for her to share.”
“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,” Colas told ESPN’s T.J. Quinn.
Brittney Griner celebrates return to US with long-overdue slam dunk https://t.co/QRvtbtGG0U pic.twitter.com/cl12NlXva3
— New York Post (@nypost) December 12, 2022
The 6-foot-9 baller was freed in a prisoner swap with Russia, and was traded in exchange for international arms dealer Viktor Bout last week.
No Timeline For Griner’s WNBA Return, Baller Will Use Newfound “Fame For Good,” Her Agent Says
Colas said gave some insight on how Griner has been doing since returning stateside, but doubled down on the fact that there is no timeline on her return to basketball.
“She’s doing really, really well. She seems to have endured this in pretty incredible ways,” Colas said, adding Griner will likely make a statement this week about her plans. “There’s no timeline on her return at this point. She’s reintegrating into a world that has changed for her now,” Colas said.
Colas added that Griner will be forced to move differently than how she did before her Russian imprisonment, and plans on using “her fame for good.”
“From a pure security standpoint, she’s not going to be able to move in the world the way she did. It’s not a fate that she asked for, but I think she’s going to try to utilize her fame for good,” she added.
New Secret Footage Surfaces of Brittney Griner In Russian Prison🇷🇺⛓️🎥 pic.twitter.com/J3F2P8fXja
— Raphousetv (RHTV) (@raphousetv2) December 10, 2022
Brittney Griner says she’s happy to be released in footage from plane: pic.twitter.com/UXvFDRUXnX
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) December 8, 2022
Griner Sports New Haircut, Glasses During Sunday’s On-Court Appearance, Has Yet To Speak On Captivity
Griner sported a new haircut courtesy of the San Antonio Spurs barber, according to Colas, as her dreadlocks were damaged after being frozen from showers at the penal colony, The Shade Room previously reported.
She also got a new pair of glasses to replace the one ones that broke in Russia, ESPN reports.
The Phoenix Mercury center was busted at a Moscow airport with cannabis oil and sent to a penal colony in Mordovia, while the U.S. worked to negotiate her release in a prisoner swap with Bout.
Griner has yet to speak publicly about her time in captivity.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday that further prisoner exchanges with the US are on the table, like that of former US Marine Paul Whelan, who has been imprisoned in Russia since 2018 on dubious charges of espionage.
Russian state media release footage of the Brittney Griner and Viktor Bout prisoner swap: https://t.co/TuMxKvMmmI pic.twitter.com/xVgtQjrGbf
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) December 8, 2022
