WNBA player Brittney Griner is breaking her silence after being released from Russian prison.
Griner took to her Instagram account to post a message, thanking those who pushed for her release.
“It feels so good to be home! 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,” she wrote.
The post went on to list all of those who advocated for her return to the U.S., including her wife Cherelle, WNBA family, Russian legal team, and the entire Biden administration.
“President Biden, you brought me home and I know you are committed to bringing Paul Whelan and all Americans home too,” Griner said.
She continued, “I will use my platform to do whatever I can to help you. I also encourage everyone that played a part in bringing me home to continue their efforts to bring all Americans home. Every family deserves to be whole.”
Concluding her post, Griner commented on her basketball career.
“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,” the post stated.
Read Griner’s message below:
Brittney Griner shared a message on Instagram thanking those who advocated for her release from Russia, and announced that she plans to play for the Phoenix Mercury this season. pic.twitter.com/lFBBXt0Zly
— ESPN (@espn) December 16, 2022
The basketball star was released earlier this month as part of a one-for-one prisoner swap for international arms dealer Viktor Bout, as IJR reported.
On Tuesday, Griner’s agent told CNN she was concerned about retired marine Paul Whelan who is still being held in Russia.
“She is thinking about his family and talked about her intention to call them as soon as she gets home,” Lindsay Kagawa Colas said.
The agent continued, “She’s really committed to telling this story and making sure that this population of wrongfully detained Americans, that people know their names.”
White House and State Department officials said they met with Whelan’s family this week to discuss renewed calls for his release, as IJR reported.
“We are going to be relentless in working with Paul Whelan’s family, his loved ones, and in turn with the Russians to do everything we can to see this case resolved as soon as we can,” State Department spokesman Ned Price said.